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SABBATH SCHOOL 



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Frontispiece. 



SABBATH SCHO^l57 /i^^a 

TEACHER'S AID: 

A COLLECTION OF *^ JfC^ » mZ^ ^ ^t^»m^ 

ANECDOTES, ^»*^/* 

FOR ILLUSTRATING RELIGIOUS TRUTH; 



ABRANGED UNDER A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS. 

FOR THE USE OF SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHERS 5 



ESPECIALLY THE 



TEACHERS OF INFANT CLASSES. 






By HARVEY NEWCOMB. 



Written for the Masssachusetts Sabbath School Society, and revised 
by the Committee of Publication. 




BOSTON: 

MASSACHUSETTS SABBATH SCHOOL SOCIETY, 
Depository No. 13 Cornhill. 

1840. 



'^...*->)f-^^^.'*'>*.V.:;*'>'*-- ^* ^^.^-i^-tX 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1839, 
By CHRISTOPHER C. DEAN, 
In the Clerk's Olfice of the District Court of Massachusetts. 






PREFACE 



This book is intended primarily as an accompani- 
ment for the author's Infant School Question Book. 
It is believed, also, that teachers generally will be 
able to draw from it interesting and profitable illus- 
trations, to explain and enforce their Scripture Les- 
sons. The book is intended, also, for the library. 
The anecdotes have been collected with much labor, 
from more than thirty volumes, of various descrip- 
tions, entirely rewritten, and arranged under the 
several subjects designed to be illustrated by them ; 
and accompanied with appropriate reflections. The 
author cannot, of course, vouch for the authenticity 
of thefii all ; though he has not selected any which 
did not appear probable ; and they all come under 
what may be denominated general facts; being de- 
scriptions of things which do actually occur. Under 
some of the heads, the material was so abundant, 
that a selection only could be published; while under 
2 



VI PREFACE. 

some others, there was a deficiency of appropriate 
illustrations. When the same anecdote illustrates 
two or more subjects, it is inserted but once ; and 
subsequently referred to. 

The object of illustrating* truth in this manner is 
not so much to render it attractive, as to make it 
understood, and impress it on the memory and the 
heart ; it being very difficult to communicate an ab- 
stract idea to the mind of a child. With the hope 
and prayer that it may, by the blessing of God, con- 
tribute something towards leading the tender lambs 
to the fold of the Good Shepherd, it is submitted to 
the Christian public. 

Boston^ JVovemher, 1839. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I. 

NO. PAGE. 

1. "The fool hath said in his heart there is no God," 13 

2. The little infidel, 14 



CHAPTER II. 

ABOUT GOD. 

1. The little giil that loved to talk about God,. 15 

2. The king who wanted to see God, 17 

3. The lost purse, 18 

4. The man that forgot to look up, 21 

5. Thou God seest me, / 22 



CHAPTER III. 

SIN AND DEATH. 

1. The boy that wanted to confess his sins, 27 

2. The Fall, 29 

3. Young, but great sinners, 33 

4. Samuel Wyke Kilpin, 35 

5. The Indian that thought the missionary lied, 38 

6. The dying child, 40 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SAVIOUR. 
NO. PAGE. 

1. The boy that wanted to be punished for his brother, 44 

2. The unseen Saviour, , 47 

3. The lost boy that was saved,.... 50 

4. How much you must love the Saviour, 54 



CHAPTER V. 

PRAISE. 

1. The starving babe, 57 

2. The little prison boy, 61 

3. Worship of Juggernaut, 63 

4. The heathen killing their children, 66 

5. The little boys who never heard of Jesus Christ, 68 

6. The girl and the boy that can neither hear, nor see, nor 

speak, 71 

7. The idiot boy, 78 

8. The afflicted family, 81 



CHAPTER VI. 

PRAYER. 

1. Not too young to pray, 83 

2. Time to pray, 84 

3. Place to pray, 90 

4. Pray to God, 93 

5. Pray with the heart, 94 

6. Confess your sins when you pray,.. 97 

7. We must love to pray, 100 

8. God hears the prayers of little children, 101 

9. Comfort in prayer, 106 

10. Learning to pray, 108 



CONTENTS. 



CFI AFTER VII. 

LOVE TO GOD — First Commandment, 

NO. PAGE. 

1. The little girl that was afraid she should make her dolls 

her idols, 114 

2. The little girl that loved God first, 115 

3. The little girl that loved Christ more than her father and 

mother, 116 

4. The little girl that wanted to go home to heaven,. 118 

5. How to prove that we love God, 119 

6. The boy that would not go to meeting, 120 

CHAPTER VIII. 

WHAT 19 IT TO BE LOST ? 

1. The wrong road, 122 

2. The lost children, 124 

3. The little wanderer, 126 

4. The lost boy, 127 

5. The way to heaven, 131 

CHAPTER IX. 

IDOLATRY — Second Commandment. 

1. Worship of Juggernaut, 132 

2. The heathen killing their children, 132 

3. Infant missionary spirit, 132 

4. An infant missionary, 133 

5. How the heathen worship, 135 

6. The heathen have no good god, 136 

7. The heathen gods, , 137 

8. The infant missionary's dying gift, 138 

9. Self-denial in a child, 138 

1 0. The little heathen beggar boy, 140 

11. Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children,.. 143 

12. Children blessed for their parents' sake, 14^ 

2* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER X. 

pROFANENEss, &c. — Third and Seventh Commandments' 

NO. PAGE. 

1. The little boy that was angry with his wagon, 146 

2. We wont stay with you, 148 

3. " If J thought there would be swearing aboard I would 

not go," , 149 

4. " The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his 

name in vain," 150 

5. The pure in heart, 152 

CHAPTER X I . 

THE SABBATH — Fouvth Commandmcnt. 

1. Sailing on the Sabbath, 153 

2. Bathing on the Sabbath, 156 

3. Skating on the Sabbath, 156 

4. Sliding on the ice, 159 

5. Shooting on the Sabbath, 159 

6. Hunting on the Sabbath, 160 

7. Stealing apples on the Sabbath, 161 

8. Gathering nuts on the Sabbath, 161 

9. Riding on the Sabbath, 161 

10. Playing on the Sabbath, 165 

11. The Sabbath breaker's end, 168 

12. The boy that repented of Sabbath breaking, 169 

13. The Sabbath a delight, 174 

14. How to prepare for the Sabbath. 174 

15. A little boy's reason for keeping the Sabbath, 176 



CHAPTER XII. 

EARLY PIETY. 

1. The best time to become a Christian, 177 

2. It is hard to repent in old age, 178 

3. Measuring the graves, 179 



CONTENTS. XI 

NO. PAGE. 

4. The infant scholar who had a new heart, 180 

5. Another pious infant scholar, 185 

6. The pious Indian girl, 190 

7. An Infant Christian, 195 

8. Effects of religion upon a child, 196 

9. Seeking God early, 201 

10. The little girl that thought God would do right to shut 

her out of heaven, 203 

11. The missionary's son, 206 

12. I ought to have repented two years ago, 208 

13. The sweetness and simplicity of early piety, 209 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FILIAL OBEDIENCE. 

Consequences of Disobedience. 

1. The little girl who disobeyed her mother and was burned, 214 

2. The lost boy that went into a boat which his father had 

forbidden him to do, 215 

3. The young man who went sailing on the Sabbath against 

his mother's wishes and was drowned, 215 

4. The disobedient boy who fell through the ice and was 

drowned , 215 

5. The widow's sons, who disobeyed their mother and were 

drowned, 216 

6. The young man who disobeyed his father and was shot, 216 

7. The boy that thought he knew better than his mother 

and broke his arm, 216 

8. The boy and the rose, 216 

9. The little girl that disobeyed her aunt and was burned 

to death, 217 

10. The boy that disobeyed his mother and was burned to 

death, 218 

11. The disobedient boy that fell into the ditch, 219 

12. The boy that disobeyed his mother and fell into the pond, 220 

13. Eyes picked out, 222 

14. The disobedient boy that was drowned, 223 



Xll CONTENTS. 

NO. PAGE. 

15. The disobedient girl, who got hurt and was not pitied, 224 

The end of Disobedience. 

16. The murdered boy and the men and women that were 

hanged, 226 

Examples to illustrate what is meant by honoring 'parents, 

17. The boy that wanted to have his own way, , 230 

18. An obedient boy, 235 

19. Another boy that honored his absent father, 235 

20. The boys who honored their absent mother contrasted 

with the one who dishonored his mother, 237 

21. Little Anne, who honored her sickly mother, 239 

22. The collier boy who honored his mother, 240 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

1. What a shepherd is, 242 

2. The Indian boy that wanted to be marked for one of 

Christ's lambs, 244 

3. The little girl that wanted her father or mother to go with 

her through the dark valley, 245 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

1. The little girl who killed another because she would not 

play with her, 247 

2. The 1 ittle boy who killed his brother, 247 

3. The boy that killed his play-fellow, 249 

4. Quarreling and fighting, 250 

5. Anger is murder 251 

6. Good for evil, 252 



CONTENTS. XIU 

NO. PAGE. 

7. Cruelty, 253 

8. The kind little girl, 255 

9. Returning good for evil, ------- 255 



C H AFTER XVI. 

THE NEW HEART. 

1. The little girl whose heart God changed, - - - 257 

2. The little girl that prayed for a new hsart, - - - 261 

3. The hard heart, ...----- 262 

4. The little boy whose naughty heart was changed, - 263 

5. Effect of a new heart, - - 264 

6. Two young girls, -------- 266 

7. Samuel Wyke Kilpin, 266 

8. The Indian that thought the missionary lied, - - 266 

9. What it is to be cleansed, ------- 266 



CHAPTER XVII. 

COVETING AND STEALING — Eighth ttud J^intk Commandmejits, 

1. The little girl that would not covet, - - - -267 

2. The honest little boy, 268 

3. The little boy that would not steal, 268 

4. The honest little girl, - - - - ^ - - 269 

5. Honesty in little things, ----- - - 270 

6. The man that forgot to look up, ----- 271 

7. Stealing from mother, - - - ----- 271 

8. The little girl that took plums and was sorry, '* because it 

was sin," -------_. 272 

9. Many sin in one, -- 273 

10. The end of stealing, 275 



XIV CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



REPENTANCE. 
NO. PAGE. 

1. The little girl that was sorry because she had sinned, - 278 

2. The little girl that told a lie and repented, - - -278 
[3. The little boy that got angry and said a bad word and 

repented, --------- 278 

4. The little boy that dishonored his mother and repented, 278 

5. Do not delay repentance, ------ 278 



CHAPTER XIX. 

LYING. 

1. The boy that did not tell the whole truth, - - - 280 

2. Sporting lies, --------- 282 

3. Telling what is not true by mistake is not lying, - - 283 

4. A liar will not be believed when he tells the truth, - 286 

5. The little girl whose word was always believed, - - 289 

6. Liars are foolish and unhappy, ----- 291 

7. When a person is in fault, he will always fare the better 

to tell the truth, -------- 293 

8. A good example, -------- 295 

9. The little girl that told a lie and repented, - - _ 395 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE GOLD FN RULE. 

1. The hungry boy that gave the biggest piece to his brother, 297 

2. Three examples, - --_--.- 297 

3. Selfishness and generosity, .----. 299 



C O NTENTS. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



THE BIBLE. 



NO. PAGE. 

1. The use of the Bible, 305 

2. The little boy and the Bible, 305 

3. The heathen boy and the Bible, 306 

4. The boy who gave all he had for a Bible, - - - 307 

5. I've got the Bible ! I've got the Bible ! - - - - 309 

6. The orphan boys and the Bible, ----- 311 

7. What a child thought of the Bible on his death-bed, - 314 

8. Reverence for the Bible, 314 

9. Reading the Bible not a task, _----- 315 
10. The best thing in the Bible, 316 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DEATH AND ETERNITY. 

1. What is death ? 317 

2. Children may die, - - - - - - - 322 

3. Children may die very suddenly, ----- 322 

4. Death terrible to those that are not prepared, - - 324 

5. How they feel who die unprepared, - - - - 325 

6. Happiness in death, -------- 328 

7. Why shall we go to heaven ? ----- 331 

8. The best place, - - - - 332 



SABBATH SCHOOL 



TEACHEE'S AID 



Safifiatlj cScpol STeacIjev's ^ftr. 



CHAPTER I. 

ABOUT CREATION. 

STORY 1. 

" The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." 

A LITTLE boy, who went to infant school, 
was talking with another boy, who said he 
did not believe there was a God ! ^' Why," 
said the infant schoolboy, ^' who made the 
world, if there is no God?" ^^O, it came 
so," said the other. ^' But who made the 
people?" said the infant schoolboy. ^^O," 
said the other, ^^they were in the ground, 
and the ants dug them up." ^'But who 
made the ants?" "They made them- 
selves," said the foolish boy. "Well,'' 
said the infant schoolboy, " I believe there is 
a God; and that he made the world first, and 
then, men and women upon it." The next 
2 



14 INFANT SCHOOL BOYS. 

day, when the httle boy told the story in 
the Sabbath school, one little child said, 
^' How could the world come soV A boy, 
five years old, said, " How could the world 
make the world?" Another asked, ^' How 
could the ants make themselves, before they 
were made, when they were nothing?" 

STORY 2. 

The teacher of an infant school told the 
children that there were some people who 
say there is no God. '^ How can they be- 
lieve that?" said a little boy. ''If they 
only look at themselves, they must believe 
that somebody made them ; and none but 
God could make us out of the dust of 
the earth."— What do you think about 
it, dear children? Could any one make 
himself? Before we were made, we were 
nothing. Could nothing make us ? Then 
there must have been some One who was 
never made. That One is God. He was 
not made. He always was. He never be- 
gan to be. He made us, and every thing 
else. 



LITTLE MARY. 15 



CHAPTER II. 

ABOUT GOD. 

1. Tlie little girl that loved to think and 
talk about God. 

A little girl, about five years old, went to 
visit her grandmother. One day, she stood 
looking out of the window upon the fields, 
which were all white with snow. She 
could not run about and play on the pretty 
green grass, as she used to do; and she 
wished the snow was gone, so that the 
green grass, and the pretty flowers, and the 
singing birds might come again. '' Grand- 
ma," said she, ^' who makes the snow 
come in the winter, and go away in the 
spring?" ''It is God, my dear," said her 
grandmother. Mary stood some time with- 
out saying a word; for she was not like 
some children who keep talking all the 
tim6, without thinking what they say. 
She would think^ as well as talk. After 
thinking a while, she said, ''Grandma, does 



16 LITTLE MARY. 

God make the grass come in the spring ; 
and all the flowers, and the leaves on the 
trees, and the birds, which sing so sweet- 
ly?" ''Yes, my dear," said her grand- 
mother. Then she stood a great while 
longer, without speaking a word, looking 
first upon the flakes of snow under the 
window, and then upon the great white 
sheet of snow which covered the fields as 
far as she could see. And what do you 
suppose she was all this time thinking 
about? Listen to what she said to her 
grandmother : '• If God can make the snow 
come on the ground, and all go away 
again, when he pleases ; and can make the 
grass, and the flowers, and the leaves, and 
the birds come in the spring, what a great 
Being God raust heV 

Can you tell now, what she was think- 
ing about ? Did you ever try to count the 
flakes of snow, that fall so thick and fast, 
in the winter ? How many there are ! Do 
you think you could make one, if you 
should try? But God makes them all. 
Did you ever try to count the spires of 
grass in the field, or the leaves on a single 



SEEING GOD. 17 

tree? How many there are, and how nice- 
ly and beautifully they are made ! Every 
one of them has a great many little notches 
in the edge, all round it. Could you make 
one? Try and see. No; you could not 
make a single one, if j^ou should try all 
your life. But God made all the spires of 
grass in all the fields, and all the leaves on 
all the trees in the world ; and he did it 
very easily too; only by saying, ^^Let it 
be !" If you should think about it as long 
as little Mary did, what would you say 
about Him^ who can do such things? 

2. The king xoho wanted to see God. 

Trajan, a heathen emperor, said to a 
man named Joshua, a Jewish teacher, 
'^You say your God is every where. I 
should like to see him." Joshua answered 
and said, ''God's presence is indeed every 
where, but he cannot be seen. No mortal 
eye can behold his glory." But the em- 
peror said he wanted to see him. He was 
not willing to believe in him till he could 
see him. Joshua told him he thought they 
2# 



18 THE LOST PURSE. 

had better first look at one of the things his 
God had made. The emperor said he was 
Avilhng ; so they went out in the open air, 
on a clear sunny day ; and Joshua told 
the emperor to look up and see the sun. 
'^Ahj" said Trajan, ''how can I look up 
at the bright sun? Its dazzling light will 
blind my eyes !" " Thou canst not endure 
the light of one of God's creatures," said 
Joshua; "how would it be, if thou shouldst 
look at the dazzling glory of God himself?" 

3. The Lost Purse, 

Mary Hammond was a poor woman, 
who lived in a cottage, with her little 
granddaughter, who was a very pretty 
little girl, about seven years old. One day, 
Susan went out with her basket on her 
arm, to pick up chips for her grandmother, 
and she saw a purse lying in the road. 
She picked it up, and found it was full of 
money. She was very much dehghted, 
and ran with great glee to her grandmother, 
crying out, "O, dear grandmother, do see 
what I have found in the road ! Here is a 



HONESTY REWARDED. 19 

purse, almost full of money ; there will be 
enough to buy you a new gown, and me a 
pair of shoes. Her grandmother took the 
purse, and found there was a good deal of 
money in it. Then, looking at Susan, she 
said, ^'Indeed, here is more money than 
would buy many frocks and pairs of shoes ; 
but perhaps the person who lost it is now 
saying to himself, 'I hope some honest 
person has picked it up; for then I shall be 
sure to get it again.' Would it be honest 
not to try our best to find the owner?" 
Susan was silent a moment, and then 
throwing her arms round her grandmoth- 
er's neck, she said, with all the warmth of 
her heart, ^' No, grandmother, I don't want 
the new frock, I don't want the new shoes 
with that money." ^^ Well, then, my good 
httle girl," replied her grandmother, ^^ we'll 
go to our neighbor, the squire's, and get 
him to have it put in the papers, that the 
owner may have it as soon as possible. 
How do you like that?" 'Til get your 
bonnet, and we'll go right off," said the 
little girl, ^' shall we, grandmother?" So 
they walked off together. The money was 



20 WHAT A SPIRIT IS. 

advertised, and found to belong to a gen- 
tleman who lived about a mile from the 
cottage, who was a good man, and very- 
rich. He was pleased with the honesty of 
the little girl, and her good grandmother; 
and not only gave them the purse, with 
the money, but removed them to a cottage 
on his own place, much better than theirs, 
and gave them every thing they needed. 
He also sent Susan to school, and let her 
play with his own daughter. So you see, 
dear children, that it is always best to be 
honest. Susan and her grandmother got 
much more than if they had kept the 
purse ; and, what is much better, they 
enjoyed it with a clear conscience, while 
they would have been very unhappy to 
live on money which they knew was not 
their own. 

Now, can you tell what part of this little 
girl was thinking and reasoning about 
the purse ? I will tell you, if you do not 
know. It was her soul or spirit. Her 
inclination or desire wanted to keep it. 
Her understanding thought and reasoned 
about it. Her co7iscience told her it was 



SPIRITS NOT SEEN. 21 

wrong to keep it. And her will chose not 
to do it. If you had been there, could you 
have seen this girPs thoughts? Could you 
have seen her will, when it was choosing 
to go and find the owner 7 No ; you can- 
not see thoughts, even your own thoughts; 
for you cannot see a spirit. God is a spirit, 
without a body. That is the reason you 
cannot see him. He is a great Spirit, for 
he is every where. God knows all things; 
and he can do what he pleases. But he 
always chooses what is right. He is very 
good, and he can never choose what is 
wrong. 



4. The man that forgot to look up. 

There was a man who used to go into 
his neighbor's field to steal corn. Once 
he took his little boy with him, to hold 
the bag, while he put in the ears. The 
Bible says, ^' Train up a child in the way 
he should go." Was this man doing so 
with his little boy? But how do you 
think he felt, when he got to the place 
where the corn was ? He was afraid some 



22 LOOKING UP. 

one would see him, because he knew he 
was doing wrong. Before he began to 
pick the corn, therefore, he looked this 
way and that way, to see if any body was 
looking at him. •' Father,'^ said his little 
son, ^'you forgot to look some w^here." 
^' Where ! where !" said the father. '• You 
forgot to look upT When the man thought 
that God was looking at him, he went 
silently away as fast as he could, without 
stealing the corn. Whenever you are going 
to do any thing that is wrong, remember 
to look up^ for God always sees you. 

5. ^' Thou God seest me." 

Hagar was Abraham's maid-servant. 
She did not behave well, and Sarah, Abra- 
ham's wife, punished her. Then she was 
angry, and ran away. However, the an- 
gel of the Lord met her, and told her to go 
back, and obey Sarah, her mistress. So 
she did. Ishmael was Hagar's son. But 
he was a bad boy ; for when Isaac came to 
be weaned, Abraham made a great feast; 
and Ishmael made a mock of it. Isaac was 



ISHMAEL. 23 

Sarah's son, and when she saw IshmaeFs 
behaviour, she was displeased. So she 
told Abraham that he must send away 
Hagar, with her naughty son Ishmael ; for 
she could not have them in the house. 
Abraham was a very kind-hearted man, 
and did not wish to do so ; but he knew 
Ishmael deserved to be sent away; and 
while he was thinking about it, God told 
him to send them away ; for he, too, was 
displeased. So Abraham got up early in 
the morning, and took some bread and a 
bottle of water, and gave them to Hagar, 
and sent her and her son away. Then 
they went away, and wandered about, till 
they had eaten up their bread and drank 
their water ; and when Ishmael was thirsty, 
and began to cry, she left him under some 
bushes, and went a good way off and sat 
down and cried too ; for she thought they 
should starve, and she did not want to see 
her child die. But the angel of God called 
to her from heaven, and told her not to be 
afraid, for he would take care of them. 
And he showed her a well of water, where 
she could get as much as she wanted. 



24 THOU GOD SEEST ME. 

Then she was very glad indeed ; for she 
did not think God saw her. And what do 
you think she said? I don't know what 
she said this time ; but I can tell you what 
she said the first time she ran away from 
her mistress, and the angel met her then. 
She said, Thou God seest me. If you 
remember this, it will be likely to keep 
you from doing wrong. 

There was a boy, whose parents were 
very poor and also wicked. But he weiit 
to the Sabbath school, where he learned 
this text. Thou God seest me. There were 
a great many wicked boys where he lived ; 
and one Sabbath they tried to persuade 
him to go along with them, to steal some 
fruit; but he would not go. As he was 
going along, thinking about the wicked 
conduct of these boys, he felt very bad for 
them, for he knew they were in danger of 
being lost for ever. When his teacher 
saw him look quite sad, he asked him 
what was the matter; when another boy 
told him the whole story. His teacher 
asked him why he did not go. He burst 
into tears, and raised his eyes to heaven, 



THE PRISON. 25 

saying, ^* I know that thou God seest me." 
Then, turning his eyes to his teacher, he 
said, ^^ When I am but half inchned to sin, 
this beautiful text, which I learned at the 
Sabbath school, is in my thoughts, and 
how can I do what God forbids, when I 
know that he sees me ? This text has kept 
me from sin many a time; and I take 
more pleasure in thinking of it, than I 
could in sin." This boy grew up to be a 
man, and became a missionary to the 
heathen. 

But, I will tell you another story, to 
show you the danger of forgetting that 
God sees you. I suppose you have heard 
of a prison; but perhaps you do not know 
what it is. I will tell you. It is a great 
house, with thick stone walls, and heavy 
doors, fastened with great iron bars and 
bolts and locks, with great iron bars up at 
the windows. Here they shut up persons 
that steal, and do other bad things, in very 
little rooms, fastened so strong that they 
can't get out. A minister was going round 
one Sabbath day, in one of these prisons, 
talking to the prisoners. As he came to 
3 



26 THE PRISONERS. 

the door of one of the cells, an old man 
came and looked through, between the 
great iron bars, and said, in a very solemn 
manner, ^'If I had remembered what Ha- 
gar said, it would have saved me twenty- 
five years' imprisonment." That was true ; 
but it would have done more; it would 
have saved his poor mother a great deal of 
pain too ; for she did not know where he 
was for twenty-two years. The minister 
went along to the door of another cell, 
where he saw another man, and told him 
what the first one he met had said ; and 
he replied, ^^Ifl had remembered Hagar's 
words, it would have saved my father 
from a shocking death, and myself from 
being shut up in a prison all my life." 



LITTLE GEORGE. 27 



CHAPTER III. 

SIN AND DEATH. 

1 . The boy that wanted to confess his sins. 

As a lady was sitting one evening with 
a friend, her little boy seven years old, 
asked her if she would please to reach him 
the Bible from the shelf She told him 
she would soon, but he must be silent 
while she had visiters. George looked 
disappointed and sad, and sat still for some 
time. But after a while he asked very 
modestly if he might get it himself; and 
she said he might. So he got up in a chair, 
and took down the Bible. He then turned 
to 1 John 1:9, '^If we confess our sins, 
he is faithful and just to forgive us our 
sins, and to cleanse us from all unright- 
eousness." Then he handed the Bible to 
his mother, and asked her if she would 
please to tell him what was meant by 
cleanse and unrighteousness. His mother 
explained these words to him. ^' To 



28 CONFESSING SIN. 

cleanse," said she, ^' is to make any thing 
clean that is not clean ; and unrighteous- 
ness is sin. Sin is called filthy, because it 
is offensive to God. If you go into a house, 
that is not clean, you are displeased ; you 
do not like to stay there. So God is dis- 
pleased, when he looks within us, and sees 
oiir hearts filled with wicked thoughts. 
To cleanse us from all unrighteousness, is, 
to take away our sins, or, to give us a 
sense of pardon, through Jesus Christ, so 
that we feel as you do, when I forgive 
you." 

After this, she asked him why he had 
asked that question. But George did not 
like to answer before the lady. His moth- 
er told him it was about time for him to 
go to bed. He did not go immediately, 
and when the lady went out, his mother 
asked him why he did not go. ^^ Mother," 
said he, ^^ I want to confess my sins first." 
'^ Well, my son," said she, ^^ you know 
you always say your prayers at night." 
^'I know it, mother," said he, ^^but I feel 
that that is not enough — I must 'prayP 
'' Why, my son," said his mother; ^' what 



FEELING WRONG. 29 

sins have you committed to-day? have 
you told falsehoods, or misused your broth- 
ers?" ^^Noj no, mother," said George; 
'^ but I have/e/^ wrong. I have felt angry 
with you and father for correcting me. O, 
mother, if I should die to-night, I could 
not go to heaven." He then threw himself 
on his knees, and said with tears, ^^ Do 
teach me how to confess my sins." After 
he had confessed his sins to God and 
asked him to pardon them for Christ's sake, 
he went to bed feeling quite happy. 

2. The Fall 

God made man in his own image. He 

called his name Adam. When he was 

asleep, he took a rib out of his side, and 

made a woman and gave her to him for 

his wife. Adam was very glad when he 

saw the woman; for he was all alone 

before ; and it would not be pleasant to be 

always alone. Adam called the woman's 

name Eve ; because she was the mother of 

all living. And the Lord God planted a 

garden, with all sorts of fruits and flowers, 

a very pretty garden indeed. You never 
3# 



30 ADAM AND EVE. 

saw any thing so pleasant in all your life. 
There he put the man and woman, and 
told them they might eat any thing they 
could find there, but the fruit that was on 
one tree. But, of that, they must not eat. 
If they did they should surely die. 

But one day the old serpent, the devil, 
asked Eve if God allowed them to eat of 
every tree of the garden; as though it 
would not be kind in him, when he had 
given them so many trees, to forbid them 
to eat of one. And Eve told him that they 
were allowed to eat of all but this one, 
which was called the tree of knowledge of 
good and evil ; but that, in the day they 
should eat of this^ they should surely die. 
He told her that was not true, but that if 
they would eat of this tree, they should 
be as gods, and know good and evil. And 
what do you think she did, when she 
heard this ? She knew who God was ; 
for he had made her and her husband, 
and placed them in this beautiful garden. 
But she knew nothing about the creature 
that she was talking with. If a person 
you had never seen before, should tell 



WHAT SIN IS. 31 

you that what your father and mother 
say is not true, would you believe him 1 
No, if you are a good child, you would not, 
but you would turn right away from him. 
You would not talk with any one that 
would contradict what your parents say. 
So Eve ought to have done. But she 
listened to what this liar said, and began 
to look at the fruit, and to think about it. 
And she saw the fruit looked very fair, 
and that it was good to eat ; so she picked 
some and ate it. Then she gave some to 
Adam, and he ate. 

What the Lord said to Adam about this 
tree, when he told him they must not eat 
of it, was his law. When they disobeyed 
him, and ate of it, they transgressed his 
law— they sinned. Any thing that God 
tells us to do, or not to do, is his law ; and 
if we disobey him, it is a transgression of 
the law ; and that is sin. 

And God came into the garden ; and 
Adam and Eve hid themselves; for they 
were afraid of God now. Before they 
disobeyed him, they were never afraid; 
but they loved to have him come and talk 



32 DISOBEYING GOD. 

with them. You are not afraid of your 
father and mother, when you have obeyed 
them and done every thing to please them. 
So we should never be afraid of God, if we 
had not disobeyed him. But God called 
them; for he was angry with them for 
disobeying him. They came trembling 
and tried to excuse themselves ; but could 
not. Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed 
the serpent. But, if they had believed 
God, and trusted what he said, they would 
not have been enticed to disobey him. So 
he drove them out of the beautiful garden ; 
and told Adam that he would have to work 
hard, and the ground should bring forth 
thorns and thistles, instead of such beauti- 
ful flowers and fresh green herbs and 
excellent fruit trees. And, if he had any 
thing to eat; he would have to dig up the 
briers and thorns, and sweat himself in 
the heat of the sun ; and after a while, his 
beautiful body should turn again to dust, 
as it was before it was made. He told 
Eve, also, that she should have trouble all 
her days. And God left them, and did 
not come to talk with them, as he used to, 
before they had disobeyed him. 



WHY ALL ARE BAD. 33 

Adam and Eve were the first father and 
mother of all the people that have lived 
in the world. Adam had sons and daugh- 
ters, and his sons had sons and daughters, 
and they had sons and daughters, till the 
world was full of people. But when Adam 
and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, they 
became bad. Their hearts were now bad. 
They did not love God, nor like to obey 
him. And their children were like them. 
And so, every one that has been born since 
Adam's fall, has been bad. All have 
wicked hearts, and sin against God. This 
is the reason why they have so much sick- 
ness and pain and trouble. And this is 
the reason why they die and are buried in 
the ground. This, too, is the reason why 
they will be punished in another world, 
after they die, if they do not repent of their 
sins, and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 



3. Youngs but great sinners. 

A minister talking with some girls about 
their religious feelings, after he had spoken 
to all the rest, came to the youngest, and 



34 YOUNG SINNERS. 

asked her if she had any hope that the 
Lord had pardoned her sins. She said she 
had not. He told her of Christ, who 
died to save sinners ; but she said she had 
been so great a sinnerj and had sinned so 
long, that she was afraid God would 
never forgive her. The minister asked 
her how old she was. She said nine. She 
did wrong to think God was not willing to 
pardon her sins, for Christ's sake ; but she 
did not think her sins were greater than 
they really were in the sight of God ; for 
he saw every sin she had ever committed ; 
but she saw very few of them. 

It was the Spirit of God that made her 
see her sins. Now if a child nine years 
old, who sees her sins, thinks she has 
sinned so long and so much that God will 
not forgive her, how soon do you think chil- 
dren begin to sin ? 

Another, only eight years old, wanted to 
unite with the church. And when they 
asked her to tell how she had felt, she said, 
'^ It seemed to me that I was one of the 
greatest sinners in the world. I thought I 
was so great a sinner, that I could never 



SAMUEL W. KILPIN. 35 

become a Christian. I thought God would 
do right to cast me off for ever; so I gave 
myself right iip^ to let him do with me 
just as he pleased. I then felt happy; 
and every thing seemed to be praising God, 
in the house and out of doors." This little 
girl was not really any worse than many 
others ; yet she did not think herself any 
worse than she really was. But she saw 
her own heart, while she could not see 
the hearts of others; and that was what 
made her think she was worse than they. 

4. Samuel Wyke Kilpin, 

Samuel Wyke Kilpin when seven years 
old, ran up to his father, who was a min- 
ister, and said, *^Papa, papa! I want to 
ask you a question — where was my soul, 
before it came into this body ? " ^^ My dear 
boy," said his father, ^4t would be better 
for you to inquire where it would go, if it 
were now to leave the body?" *' O, papa," 
said the little boy, ^4t would go to heaven." 
His father said he wished it might be so ; 
and told him that to be sure of that would 
be much better than to know where his 



36 CONVICTION. 

soul was before it came into his body. 
"But what made you ask such a ques- 
tion?" said his father. '^I don't know/' 
said the boy; "but it just came into my 
mind." 

Why do you suppose this httle boy 
thought he should certainly go to heaven ? 
He deceived himself. He thought, because 
he was young, and had not, as he supposed, 
committed many sins, that he should surely 
go to heaven. But he did not know what 
was in his heart. Jesus says the Holy 
Spirit shall convince of sin ; and when he 
came into little Samuel's heart, there was 
a great tumult there. He saw that his 
heart was full of sin ; and that it was not 
so certain that he should go to hea.ven as 
he had supposed. He left his father and 
mother, and went away into a dark parlor 
alone, and there he kneeled down to confess 
his sins before God. After some time, his 
mother, not knowing where he was, went 
into the room. Samuel immediately ran 
away to his own chamber. His mother 
was frightened ; and followed him up stairs 
and stood by his door. She heard his 



SORROW FOR SIN. 37 

groans and cries, and sent for his father, 
who went into the room, and found him 
sitting on his bed, with his hands clasped 
together, and his eyes turned towards 
heaven, and the tears streaming down his 
cheeks. ^' O papa, papa ! " said he, "' your 
sermon to-night has shown me that I am 
wrong — that I am a lost sinner. You said 
that those who have never gone forth 
weeping would never return rejoicing ; and 
till now, I never knew what sorrow for sin 
meant. O, papa, O, papa, what shall I 
do V What his father meant by going 
forth weeping, was being sorry for sin ; 
and it is true that they only who weep in 
sorrow for their sins, and confess them 
before God, will rejoice in the pardon of 
their sins. If you confess your sins in 
sorrow, and ask God to pardon them, for 
the sake of Jesus, who shed his blood to 
wash away your sins, he will pardon them 
and make your heart glad. 



38 THE INDIAN. 

5. The Indian that thought the missionary 
lied. 

A missionary, preaching to the Indians, 
told them that all men are sinners, and 
that, by nature, we all hate God. At this 
an Indian named Barnet was angry, and 
said to himself, '^ It is a lie." He did not 
believe he was wicked. He felt as many 
children do, who think they are very good. 
But the missionary told the Indians, if 
they did not believe what he said, he 
would tell them how they might know 
whether he spoke the truth or not. He 
told them about God, and his law; and 
then asked them to try their feelings and 
see whether they loved God and his holy 
law. Barnet thought he would do this; 
and he felt as sure that he should prove 
what the missionary said was false, as 
Samuel Kilpin did that he should go to 
heaven. But, when he had compared his 
feelings with the pure and holy character 
of God and his good law, he found it 
indeed true, that he did hate God. 

Now, dear children, if you will do the 



LOVE TO GOD. 39 

same thing, yovi will find it so with your- 
selves. God says you must love him 
better than you love any thing else. Do 
you so love him? Think a moment. Do 
you love to go by yourself, where nobody 
but God is, and talk with him, in prayer? 
You would, if you loved him* for you 
always take delight in being with those 
you love. But God says you must remem- 
ber the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Do 
you love the Sabbath day ? And do you 
love it because it is the day for worshiping 
God? Don't you sometimes long to have 
the Sabbath gone, that you may go to your 
play ? If you do, it is because you do not 
love God. 

And again: God says you must obey 
your father and mother. Do you love to 
mind your parents? You would, if you 
loved God. If you will try your hearts, 
dear children, as Barnet did, you will find 
that they are very wicked. 



40 THE DYING CHILD. 

6. The Dying Child. 

A little boy six years old was very sick ; 
and the doctors said he could not get well. 
When he learned that he must die, he 
inquired of every one about him 'whether 
he should be happy after he died. '' Fa- 
ther," said he, a little while before he died, 
^^ shall I be happy after death? " ^' I hope 
so, my son," said his father. ^^You say 
you hope so, father ; but that is not saying 
it will be so. I am not satisfied with that. 
Please to give me your reason for that 
hope." ^' Well, my son," said his father, 
^'you have been a good, obedient child; 
you loved to go to church ; you loved to 
read your Bible." ^^O," replied the little 
boy ; '' You did not know my heart, father, 
or you would not say so. I did not love 
any of these things. I was afraid of you, 
or I should never have done them." — You 
see, dear children, that it was the feelings 
of his hearty that troubled this little boy on 
his deathbed. He had been a good, obe- 
dient boy, as his father said ; but he knew 
that the feelings of his heart had been 



SIN IN EVERY ACTION. 41 

wicked in the sight of God. After his 
father left the room, he told the lady who 
was taking care of him, that his father 
knew nothing of his wicked heart, or he 
would not have told him so. The lady 
asked him what it was that made him feel 
so bad about himself He said he thought 
he had sinned against God in every action 
of his life. — Do you believe, dear children, 
that you have sinned against God in every 
action of your lives ? It is so, and I will tell 
you why. If you should refuse all the 
time to obey your father, do you suppose 
he would be pleased with any thing you 
do? Yet you all the time refuse to obey 
God; for you will not love him, nor give 
him your hearts. And so it is true, as the 
Bible says, that those whose hearts have 
not been changed, cannot please him. 
They cannot, for they will not. When his 
father came from church in the morning, 
the little boy asked him to pray with him. 
His father asked what he should pray for ; 
and he answered, ''that I may be happy 
after I am dead." Soon after, his father 

had to leave him. The little boy felt so 

4# 



42 BABE OF BETHLEHEM. 

bad that he threw himself from side to side 
on his bed, and told the lady to lie down 
on the bed and hold him still. ^^I have 
something to ask you," said he, '^ and you 
must answer me. You must tell me what 
you believe. Shall I be happy when I 
have done breathing? You must not tell 
me, as my father did, that you hope so. I 
want to know whether it will be so." 
The lady asked him if he had ever read in 
the New Testament, the interesting story 
of the child that was born in Bethlehem, 
in the manger, and when he became a 
man was crucified on mount Calvary. He 
listened with eagerness, and said he knew 
nothing about it, for he had never learned 
to read in the New Testament. The lady 
told him that the child that was born in 
Bethlehem, was the Saviour of mankind — 
that he came into the world a little infant, 
grew up like a man, and died on the cross 
to save sinners, both young and old. 
^^But," said the little boy, ^^how shall I 
who have never heard of this Saviour 
before, and have but one moment to live — 
how shall I make him my Saviour?" 



THE SAVIOUR. DEATH. 43 

The ]ady told him that the onliT- way to 
make him our Saviour is to have faith in 
him as such. He then wanted to know 
what it is thus to have faith in the Saviour, 
The lady told him that it was to believe 
on Christ, as the Saviour, and to trust in 
him for the salvation of the soul. The little 
boy began to see how God could pardon his 
sins : ^' O." said he, '' I am sure I am wil- 
ling to believe." His mind was relieved. 
Just before he died, he said, '^ I believe that 
Jesus Christ is my Saviour." In this be- 
lief, he died in peace. — Dear children, if 
you had been there, do you suppose this 
little boy would have told you to put off 
attending to these things till you came to 
die? No; he would have said, '^ Look at 
me. See how my face and hands and 
arms are wasted away. The flesh is all 
gone. I am weak and pale. I am full of 
pain. I cannot lie still a moment. The 
hand of death is on me. I have but one 
moment to live. Is this the time to think 
about preparing to die ? Do, dear children, 
think of God and Jesus Christ and serious 
things, and prepare to die, while you are 



44 THE BAD BOY. 

well." But none of you, my dear chil- 
dreUj are as ignorant of Christ as this little 
boy was : and if you should put it off till 
death, you would not be so likely as he 
was to find the Saviour, because you knew 
about him but did not seek him, while you 
were well. Do come now and give him 
your heart, and trust in his blood, to wash 
you from all sin. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE SAVIOUR. 

1. The boy that wanted to be punished for 
his brother. 

In Mr. Kilpin's school, there were two 
brothers, the one eleven and the other 
twelve years of age. The younger had 
been a bad boy. He would not mind his 
teacher ; and he was sulky and stubborn. 
Mr. Kilpin told him he must be severely 
punished. But while he was preparing to 
punish him, the elder brother, whose name 



THE OLDER BROTHER. 45 

was Paul, came forward and entreated Mr. 
Kilpin that he might be punished instead 
of his brother. '' My dear Paul/' said Mr. 
Kilpin, ^^You are one of my best boys; 
you have never needed punishment ; your 
mind is tender ; I could not bear to punish 
you, my child." But Paul said he should 
suffer more to see his brother punished, 
than to be punished himself "He is a 
little boy," said he; "and younger and 
weaker than I am: pray sir, allow me to 
take all the punishment ; I will bear any 
thing from you. O do, do, sir, take me in 
exchange for my naughty brother ! " 

This, my dear children, is like what 
Christ has done for us. We have offended 
God. We have disobeyed him. If your 
parents should let you disobey them, and 
never punish you, would there be any 
order in their families ? How then would 
it be, if God should let the wicked who 
disobey him go unpunished? When Mr. 
Kilpin heard what Paul said, he turned to 
James the little naughty boy, and said, 
"Well, James, what say you to this noble 
offer of Paul's?" James looked at his 



46 JESUS TOOK OUR SINS. 

brother, and said nothing. Paul still 
pleaded for the punishmentj that it might 
be finished, and began to weep. Mr. Kil- 
pin asked him if he ever heard of any one 
who bore stripes and insults, to save others. 
''Oyes, sir,'' said Paul, ''the Lord Jesus 
Christ gave his back to the smiters, for us 
poor little sinners, and by his stripes we 
are healed and pardoned. O, sir, pardon 
James for my sake, and let me endure the 
pain. I can bear it better than he." '' But 
your brother does not seek pardon for him- 
self; why should you feel this anxiety, 
my dear Paul? Does not James deserve 
correction?" ''O yes, sir, he has broken 
the rules of the school, after being often 
told of them. You have said he must suf- 
fer; and as I know you will not speak 
what is not true, and the laws must be 
kept ; and he is sulleh and will not repent, 
what can be done, sir ? Please to take me, 
because I am stronger than he." Paul 
then threw his arms round his brother's 
neck, and v/et his face with his tears. 
Then James' heart began to melt, and his 
tears to flow, and he begged Mr. Kilpin to 
forgive him. 



INTERCEDING. 47 

When Paul was pleading for Mr. Kilpin 
to pardon James for his sake, he was inter- 
ceding for him. So Christ intercedes with 
God for us. But, if James had continued 
to be hard-hearted, and had refused to 
repent, Mr. Kilpin would not have par- 
doned him for Paul's sake. But Paul's 
kindness broke his heart, and made him 
sorry for his sin ; and then Mr. Kilpin pai 
doned him for his brother's sake. So, it 
we will not be sorry for our sins, God will 
not forgive us for Christ's sake. But if, 
through the blessing of the Holy Spirit, 
the love of Christ breaks our hearts, and 
we are sorry for our sins, and ask God to 
pardon us for Christ's sake, he will do it, 
and give us new hearts. 

2. The Unseen Saviour, 

A little boy named William heard a 
sermon one Sabbath day, from 1 Pet. 1 : 8, 
'^Whom, having not seen, ye love; in 
whom, though now ye see him not, yet 
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory." When he came home, 
his father asked him where the text was; 



48 THE UNSEEN SAVIOUR. 

and as he ran to get the Bible, he said the 
minister had been preaching about the 
unseen Saviour. ^'But," said he, ^'I can't 
tell how people can love any body they 
never saw/' His father asked him if the 
minister did not tell how people love the 
Saviour whom they have not seen. '• Yes," 
said William, ''he said they beheved in 
him and rejoiced greatly in him. He said 
they loved to think about him, and talk 
about him, and do every thing to please 
him, as much as if they could see him 
with them all the time. But I don't see 
into that, father, for I think I love you and 
mother because I see you." ''Well," 
said his father, "You have often heard 
me tell you of your grandfather and grand- 
mother; and I think I have heard you 
wish to see them." "Yes, father, I want 
to see them, because I have heard you tell 
so much about them; and I have seen 
their letters, and the books they have sent 
note, to teach me to read." "Well," said 
his father, "don't you love them?" "O 
yes;" replied the boy, " I should be very 
^vicked, if I should not love them ; they are 



NOT SEEN, BUT LOVED. 49 

your father and mother, and they are very 
good, I know, because they send us such 
good books and letters. There is my httle 
Bible, with their names in it; and I have 
kissed their names many a time ; and I 
wish I could see them." ^^Well, now, 
can you not do the same to Jesus ? Though 
you never saw him, yet he has sent 
you the Bible, which is worth more than 
all grandfather's and grandmother's letters 
and books. It tells you all about himself, 
and what he has done for you ; and he is 
all the time sending you presents. It was 
Jesus that preserved you last night ; it was 
he that gave you food this morning ; it is 
he that gives you the Sabbath, and sends his 
ministers to preach to you. It is he that was 
hung on the cross, to save you from your 
sins; and now he is in heaven, at the right 
hand of God, to pray for you. Is it not as 
easy to love him, though you have not seen 
him, as to love your grandfather and mother, 
whom you have never seen ? He has done 
a great deal m.ore for you than they have. 
You love to do what they ask you to do, in 
5 



50 THE LOST BOY. 

their letters. Jesus has told you, in the 
Bible, what will please him. You love to 
send messages to your grandparents, in my 
letters. But you can speak to Jesus more 
easily than that. You can pray to him 
any where and at any time, and he will 
hear you. Can you not believe in him, 
and trust in him, and love him, as well as 
if you could see him with your eyes? 

3. The lost boy that tvas saved, 

A man traveling in Vermont had to pass 
through a piece of woods, after dark. 
There was a thick fog, and it was so dark 
he could not see to guide his horse ; so he 
let him go as he pleased. The wolves 
were howling, and every little while he 
would hear the yell of a catamount. As 
he was riding slowly along, he thought he 
heard a child cry. He stopped and listen- 
ed, and the cry seemed to be some distance 
off in the woods. He listened again, and 
still heard it cry. He thought to himself, 
^' What shall I do ? " He did not know but 
it ^as a catamount; for they sometimes 



THE LOST BOY FOUND. 51 

imitate the cry of a person in distress, to 
bring men to them, that they may devour 
them. He did not know but it might be 
robbers, who wished to murder him and 
get his money. If it was a child, he was 
afraid it was so dark he should not find it. 
He listened again, and still heard the cry 
of the child. He was a kind-hearted, yet 
resolute man ; and he would not be fright- 
ened from going to afford relief, when he 
heard a little child in distress. So lie got 
off his horse and tied him, and then went 
into the woods towards where he heard the 
cry. After going some distance, he heard 
the cry still further off, in a different direc- 
tion. Still he followed it. After going 
some way further, he stopped to listen: 
and he felt something taking hold of his 
pantaloons, and pulling. He stooped down 
to see what it was, and heard a sweet voice 
say, ^^Pa, is it you?" He took up the 
little boy, who was about four years old. 
But now he was in danger of being lost 
himself; for how could he find his way 
back to his horse? But God directed 



52 LOST BOY AT HOME. 

him, so that he came out right where his 
horse was. He rode on, with the boy in 
his arms, till he came to a house. He got 
off and went in, and found that it was the 
house where the little boy's father lived. 
The father and mother almost fainted when 
they saw their little son ; and the children 
all jumped and clapped their hands, when 
they saw that little Henry had come home. 
Poor little fellow ! he had been lost from 
his father's house almost three days; he 
was pale and almost starved ; but he was 
very glad to get home ; and the family were 
very glad, too, for they were mourning for 
him, supposing him to be dead. 

Now, dear children, how do you think 
this little boy would feel towards the good 
man that went among the wolves and cat- 
amounts, and risked his own life to save 
him ? I suppose he ought to love him very 
much, and think of him a great deal, and 
do every thing he could to please him. But 
suppose the little boy had refused to go 
with the man, when he found him in the 
woods, — what would you think of him ? I 



ALL LOST IN SIN, 53 

should think he was a very unthankful boy 
indeed ; for that would be treating the kind 
man very badly. 

But, dear children, you are all lost, as 
was this Httle boy, God is your Father; 
but you have gone away from his house, 
and you are now wandering in the dark. 
If you keep on, you will be destroyed in 
hell for ever. You will be there among 
wicked spirits. But Jesus saw you, and 
like this good man, had pity on you, and 
came down from heaven to save you. He 
freely gave up his own life for you. He 
suffered on the cross, that you might be 
taken back to your Father's house; and 
when one poor lost sinner returns to God, 
there is joy in heaven and on earth, among 
the children of God, as there was in this 
family. But a great many people, and 
very many little girls and boys, treat the 
blessed Jesus very badly. When he calls 
them to come and be saved, they will not 
come. 



5=^ 



54 SAMUEL. 



4. How much you must love the Saviour. 

A little boy about ten years old attended 
the Sabbath school ; and his teacher often 
told him of the goodness of God, in sending 
his only beloved Son into the world, to die 
for sinners. It was not long before Samuel 
began to think of God ; and he prayed to 
him to forgive him his sins. He studied 
the Bible, to find out what he must do to 
become a child of God. He soon loved to 
pray, and to think of God, and read and 
hear about him, and obey him. He loved 
the Sabbath day, and was always very 
sorry when any thing prevented him from 
going to Sabbath school, to hear more 
about God. But Samuel's father and- 
mother did not love God. They never 
prayed to him, and they were very sorry 
when they found that Samuel had begun 
to love him and pray to him. But they let 
him go on for a few weeks, without saying 
any thing to him. But one evening, Sam- 
uel's father called him, and said, ^^ Samuel, 



A CRUEL MAN. 55 

do you mean always to spend as much 
time as you have done in reading the 
Bible and prayer to God ? " Samuel said 
he hoped he always should, for he loved to 
do so. ^' Well," said his father, ^4f you 
mean always to do so, you must no longer 
live with us. I will give you till to-mor- 
row morning to think of it." 

Such was his father's cruel treatment. 
And how do you think Samuel spent the 
night ? He did not go to sleep, but took 
his Bible and read what Jesus said about 
little children ; and then prayed that God 
would direct him what to do, and bless him. 
He thought of what the Saviour had done 
for his soul, and his heart was filled with 
gratitude and love to him. Although he 
expected soon to leave his father's house, 
yet he was happy. Morning came, and 
Samuel went down stairs to meet his 
father. In a pleasant tone of X'oice he bade 
his father '^good morning," and then with 
tears in his eyes, added, ^^ Father, I can- 
not give up my Saviour. If you wish it, I 
will leave my home, and seek one among 



56 Samuel's prayer. 

strangers; but my Bible tells me, ^when 
my father and mother forsake me, the Lord 
will take me up.' " He then told his 
father and mother that, they were sinners, 
and begged them to repent of their sins, and 
turn to God. He also asked them if they 
would let him pray with them before he 
went away. They said he might; and 
they all kneeled down together. Samuel 
prayed very earnestly for his parents, and 
God heard him ; for when they rose up, 
instead of sending him away, his father 
and mother asked him what they should do 
to be saved. He was very glad ; and soon 
they were all rejoicing together in the same 
Saviour. 

Now, dear children, this shows you how 
much you must love Jesus. He says, '^ He 
that loveth father or mother more than me, 
is not worthy of me." This little boy 
loved his father and mother ; but he loved 
his Saviour so much more that he would 
rather leave his father and mother, than 
give up his Saviour. So you must love 
him, or he will not be your Saviour. 



STARVING BABE. 57 



CHAPTER V. 

PRAISE. 

1. The starving babe. 

Early one morning, a poor man came to 
the door of Dr. Hibbard, in Hillsdale, N. Y., 
and asked him to go and see his little baby, 
for it was very sick, and he was afraid it 
would die. The doctor said he would go 
with him. However, he was going to try 
to get a bushel of corn ground to carry 
home with him, and he wanted the doctor 
to go right away, and not wait for him, for 
he was afraid the baby would die. The 
man lived a long way from the doctor's, 
and it was a good while before the doc- 
tor got to his house. When he arrived, 
he found the mother holding her sick child 
in her arms ; and around her six or seven 
little ragged boys and girls with clean hands 
and faces, but looking very lean and pale. 
The doctor looked at the child, and found 



58 THE STARVING FAMILY. 

it was starving to death. He told her that 
the babe did not have enough to eat, and 
she must feed it with milk. She said she 
would if she had it; but she could not get 
any to feed it with. He told her then she 
might feed it with water gruel. She said 
she Avas thinking she would^ if her husband 
should bring home some Indian meal. The 
doctor then asked her if they had nothing to 
eat. She answered very sorrowfully, and 
said they had not had much to eat for some 
days. He wanted to give the baby some 
manna, and asked the woman for a spoon. 
The little girl went to the table drawer to 
get it, and her mother told her to bring the 
one with the longest handle. As she open- 
ed the drawer, the doctor saw two spoons, 
both of them with broken handles ; but the 
handle of one was a little longer than the 
other. While he was preparmg the medi- 
cine, he heard the oldest boy, who was 
about fourteen years old, say, ^^ You shall 
have the biggest piece now, because I had 
the biggest piece before." He turned round, 
to see who it was that was so generous and 



KIND-HEARTED BOYS. 59 

kind, and he saw four or five children sit- 
ting in the corner, where the oldest was 
dividing a roasted potato among them. He 
said to one of them, '' You shall have the 
biggest piece now, because I had the biggest 
piece yesterday;^' but the other replied, 
^' Why, brother, you are the oldest, and 
you ought to have the biggest piece." 
^^ No," said the eldest, ^' I had the biggest 
piece before." The doctor turned to the 
mother and said, ^' Madam, you have pota- 
toes to eat, I suppose?" '' We have had," 
said she, ''but that is the last one we had 
left, and the children have now roasted it 
for their breakfasts." 

Dear children, how would you feel, if 
you were as poor as these were? How 
would you feel, if you had nothing but rags 
to cover you, and nothing for your break- 
fast but one potato, to be divided among 
five or six of you. But there are a great 
many children, whose parents are so poor 
that they cannot give their children decent 
clothes, nor half enough to eat. Many of 
them live in little huts, with but one room, 



60 PRAISE. 

and very little fire ; and when the wind 
blows, it whistles through the cracks, and 
the snow blows in, and they are very cold. 
They lie down at night upon the straw, 
with very little covering on their beds, all 
shivering with the cold. But who gives 
you a good home, with good clothes, a warm 
fire, and a comfortable bed to sleep on? 
How should you feel towards Him, who is 
so kind to you 7 And how should you show 
your feelings ? 

[Addition, when used in Chapter XX, instead of the last par- 
agraph.] 

What do you think, dear children, of the 
boy that wanted to give his brother the big- 
gest piece 7 He was very hungry. He had 
eaten very little for some days. If you 
were starving, would you not want the 
biggest piece ? But his little brother was 
very hungry, as well as he. If you had 
been his little brother, would you not have 
wanted the biggest piece ? Then what rule 
did the oldest boy mind ? But the other boy 
wanted his brother should eat the biggest 
piece, because he was the oldest. What 



THE PRISON BOY. 61 

rule did he mind ? And what would you 
call these dear boys, for their behaviour 
toward one another 7 And can you tell me 
why they were so generous ? 

2. The little prison boy, 

Solomon says, ^^ A child left to himself 
bringeth his mother to shame.'' And such 
was the case with Charles. He had a 
wicked father and mother, who let him do 
as he pleased. When he was quite young, 
he would lie, and swear, and steal, and get 
drunk. ^' O," says one, ^' I could never be 
like that boy." But you cannot tell what 
you would be, if you had no one to teach 
you what to do, and keep you from doing 
wrong. If your parents did such things, 
very likely you would too. Besides, who 
gave you kind and faithful parents ? And 
whom should you praise, when you think 
of the difference between you and Charles ? 
And would you like to know what be- 
came of Charles? After a great deal of 
trouble, Charles was persuaded to go to 
Sabbath school ; and he soon began to be a 
6 



62 THE TRUANT BOY. 

better boy. But, after he had been to school 
every Sabbath for some time, he was met 
one morning by two or three bad boys, who 
persuaded him to go with them, instead of 
going to school. Before night they broke 
into a store and stole some money. They 
were soon found out, and poor Charles was 
sent away to the house of correction, where 
he had to work hard, with a ball of iron 
chained to his foot. While he was there, 
his teacher visited him often ; and he ap- 
peared to be very sorry for what he had 
done ; he promised, too, if he could get his 
liberty again, that he would go to the Sab- 
bath school, and not go any more with 
wicked boys. 

After a while Charles was set at liberty ; 
and he went to the Sabbath school, and 
behaved very well for a while. But, by- 
and-by, he began to be tired of the Sab- 
bath school. He did not like to hear about 
God, who punishes sinners, nor of Jesus 
Christ, who shed his blood to save them. 
So he told his teacher that he was going 
away to live. He did go away, but came 



THE YOUNG THIEF. 63 

back again in a little while ; but he did not 
go to the Sabbath school any more. In a 
httle while, he broke into a store again, and 
stole some money. He was found out, and 
sent to the state prison, where he was kept 
a number of years, at hard work, with 
plain food to eat, and coarse clothes to wear. 
What a gloomy place a prison is ! Poor 
Charles is shut up in a little, dark, narrow 
cell at night, all alone. He has to get up 
very early in the morning and go to his 
work, where he is not allowed to speak to 
any one. O how he wishes he had staid 
at the Sabbath school ! 

But, dear children, what is the reason 
you are not in prison, like Charles ? Who 
has kept you from stealing? It is God that 
has given you good parents to teach you 
better. It is God that has kept you from 
stealing. It is God that has kept you out 
of prison. Will you not praise him ? 

3. Worship of Juggernaut. 

In India, which is a heathen country, the 
people worship an idol called Juggernaut ; 



64 JUGGERNAUT, 

a block of wood painted black, with a great 
mouth painted red like blood. His arms 
are made of g*oId, and he is dressed up in 
finery. He is placed in a very great house, 
called a temple ; and when the people wor- 
ship him, he rides in a great carriage as 
high as a meeting-house, drawn by a great 
many men with long ropes. The people go 
a great way to worship him: and their 
bones lie along the road fifty miles from the 
temple. A missionary, passing that way, 
stopped to see how the worship was per- 
formed. When the idol was brought out 
of the temple, the people shouted and made 
a great noise; when he was placed on his 
carriage, they shouted again, making such 
a noise as you never heard ; for there were 
more people there than you ever saw 
together in your life. Then came a com- 
pany of men, with green branches in their 
hands, so that they looked like a grove of 
green trees moving along. The people 
opened a way for them, and they came and 
fell down before the great idol, and wor- 
shiped him. Then the people shouted 



JUGGERNAUT. 65 

again ; and there were so many that they 
made a noise Uke thunder, almost. The 
priests sung wicked songs, and the great 
carriage, with the idol, was drawn forward. 
Then a man cried out, and said he was 
ready to offer up himself a sacrifice to the 
idol. He laid himself down in the road, 
and the wheels of the car rolled over him 
and crushed him to death. Then the 
people gave a shout of joy to the idol ; for 
they think he smiles upon them when any 
one offers himself in this way. They sup- 
pose their gods delight in cruelty and blood. 
The next day a woman offered up herself 
in the same way. And the morning after, 
the missionary saw a poor woman lying 
dead, with two children standing by her, 
while the dogs and vultures were coming 
to eat her up. The people passed by with- 
out minding the children; for heathen 
people are not kind, like the people you 
know. But the missionary stopped and 
asked them where their home was. They 
said they had no home but where their 
mother was. Think of these poor heathen 
6* 



66 HEATHEN CHILDBEN. 

children, and praise God that you were 
born in a Christian land. 

4. The heathen killing their children. 

The heathen frequently offer up their 
children to their idol gods. We read about 
this in the Bible. They worshiped a great 
idol, made of brass, who held out his arms 
over a great fire; and the people would 
come and put their little children on his 
arms, and they would roll off into the great 
fire, and burn to death. The people 
thought the god was pleased with them for 
such a cruel act. But he could be neither 
pleased nor displeased ; for he was nothing 
but a great image, made of brass. He 
could neither see, nor hear, nor feel. 

There are heathen now, who offer up 
their children to their gods, thinking that 
they will be pleased with them for it. 
Sometimes they hang the little babes up in 
a basket, on the limb of a tree, to be eaten 
up by the birds and the ants. In other 
places, they worship a river, which they 
think is a god ; and when their children 



HEATHENISM CRUEL. 67 

are three or four years old, they throw them 
into the river, to be drowned and eaten up 
by the aUigators or crocodiles. In the 
Sandwich Islands, the heathen women 
used to kill their children, because they did 
not like to take care of them. They used 
to bury them alive. I once saw a man 
who, when a child^ was buried alive by his 
cruel heathen mother ; but some one took 
him out of the grave, and he grew up to be 
a man. In some parts of India, they catch 
little boys, and feed them as people do pigs, 
to make them fat ; and then they cut the 
flesh from their bones, and squeeze out the 
blood, and sprinkle it on the land, before 
the boys die. This they think will make 
the land fruitful. 

O, how cruel heathenism is ! How great 
a blessing it would be to these poor people 
to have the gospel ! Then they would not 
kill their children any more; for the Bible, 
— that blessed Book, — tells us that God 
loves us, and does not delight in cruelty. 
When the women who have killed their 
children come to the missionaries' houses, 



68 PRAISE. 

and see their children, they cry, and say, 
^^ We too might have had children, if you 
had come a few years sooner ! " Will you 
not praise God, my dear children, that you 
were not born among the heathen, to be 
thus sacrificed to their cruel gods ? O, how 
thankful you should be ! And will you 
not love Jesus, who has been so kind to 
you, and give him your hearts ? 



5. The little boys who never heard of Jesus 
Christ, 

A good man, traveling in the State of 
Maine, as he was passing through a piece 
of woods, came to an opening, where he 
saw two little boys hoeing corn. Their 
clothes were very poor, but they looked 
bright and active. He asked them if they 
liked to plant and hoe, and raise corn and 
potatoes. They said they did. Then he 
asked them if they loved to go to school, 
and learn their books. The oldest one 
said, ^'We havn't got any school, and so 
we don't know how to read. We had a 
school once, and learned to read some, but 



THE IGNORANT BOYS. 69 

it Stopped, and so we didn't learn any more, 
and now we've forgot it all." ^'How old 
are you?" said the gentleman. 'Tm 
thirteen," said the largest boy; and the 
other said he was nine. Then the man 
asked them if their parents did not help 
them learn to read, now they have no 
school. ^'No," said one of them, ^^they 
don't say any thing about it, and we havn't 
got no books." ^' How long is it since you 
went to school?" inquired the gentleman. 
''I don't know," said the older boy. ^'I 
guess it's three years," said the other. 
^' What book did you read in when you 
went to school?" '^We begun to read in 
the Testament." ^^And have you not a 
Testament now, that you can read in?" 
^'No, sir." ^^Has not your father a Tes- 
tament or a Bible?" ^'I don't know," 
said both of them. '* I guess he has," said 
the younger; ''I saw him. have a book 
Sabba'day, — I guess 'twas the Bible. But 
he don't let us have it." '' Does he never 
read it to you?" '' No, sir." ^' Do you 
remember what you read about when you 



70 NO SCHOOLS. NO MEETINGS. 

went to school?" ^^No, sir.'' ^^ Do you 
not remember about John the Baptist, that 
came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 
and baptized people ? " ^' No, sir." ^^ Do 
you remember about Jesus Christ ? " ^^ No, 
sir, I don't," said one of them. ^^I never 
heard of such a man," said the other. 

When the gentleman found these boys 
were so very ignorant, he went into the 
house, and began to talk with their mother 
about it. But she said that their father 
and she had so much work to do that they 
could not get time to teach their children to 
read; they were so poor, too, and had so 
much trouble, that they could not do any 
thing. ^^And," said she, ^^we have no 
schools, nor meetings, nor nobody to tell us 
how to do, and we get clear discouraged." 

Now, dear children, when you think of 
these poor boys, who could not read, and 
who did not know any thing about God, 
and Jesus Christ, don't you think you ought 
to praise God for giving you parents to 
teach you, and schools to go to, and Sab- 
bath schools, where you hear about Jesus ? 



JULIA BRACE. 71 

Think how great a favor it would be to 
these boyS; if they could have an opportu- 
nity to learn, as you have. Then you will 
thank God, and try to learn all you can, 
and to mind what you learn. 

6. The girl and the boy that can neither 
hear^ see, nor speak. 

Julia Brace can neither hear, see, nor 
speak. Yet she is a very good girl. When 
she was a little girl, she was kind to her 
brothers and sisters. Though she could 
not see nor hear, yet she could tell more 
about things by touching and smelling 
them, than you can by the same means. 
When clothes were given her, she would 
feel of them and smell them ; and she liked 
those best which were the finest. In cold 
weather, she would kneel down and feel of 
her brothers' and sisters' feet, to see 
whether they had on stockings and shoes, 
while she had none; and she would be 
uneasy about it. 

She was very fond of being employed. 
Her father was a shoemaker; and she 



72 JULIA BRACE. 

would pick up the strips of leather and 
pieces of thread which he had thrown 
away, and weave them into bonnets and 
Vandykes for her pussy. 

At length some kind-hearted people sent 
her to school. But what could she learn 
there ? She could neither see to read, nor 
hear any thing that the teacher said. Yet 
she was very anxious to learn. She learn- 
ed that the rest of the children spent most 
of their time looking on their books ; and 
so she would hold one before her eyes a 
great while at a time, though she could not 
see a single letter. She thought her kitten 
could learn to read ; and she would spread 
a newspaper before it, and put her hand on 
its mouth, to find whether it was moving 
its lips, as the children did when reading ; 
and when she found it did not she would 
shake it, for she thought it did not try to 
learn. Why could not the kitten learn to 
read? It had no soul. You ought to 
praise God that you have a soul, and can 
learn to read. 

But Juha spent most of her time in knit- 



JULIA BRACE. 73 

ting and sewing, which she learned when 
a very httle girl ; and she made many 
beautiful things, which were sold to buy 
clothes for her. Indeed, she would do 
things more difficult still. Gentlemen who 
visited her would give her their watches, 
and then try to get from her the ones that 
were not their own ; but she would never 
give up one of them, except to its owner. 
How could she tell the men or the watches 
apart, when she could not see ? That is 
strange indeed. But though nobody could 
teach her any thing about stealing, because 
she could not hear, yet she would never 
take any thing that did not belong to her. 

After this, she was sent to the asylum 
for the deaf and dumb, at Hartford. There 
they tried to teach her to read, — as they do 
blind persons, who can hear and speak, — 
by using books printed on purpose for the 
blind, with letters which they can tell by 
feeling; and Julia tried very hard to learn. 
She would go every day to the school-room, 
and spend hour after hour in making letters 
with pins on a cushion. She could learn 
7 



74 JULIA BRACE. 

the letters ; but there was no way to tell 
her what the letters meant ; and so she had 
to give up trying to learn to read. 

The asylum is a very large house ; and 
when she first went there she went all over 
itj feeling and smelling of every thing. In 
this way she soon learned the different 
rooms so well that she could go to any of 
them ; and she never makes a false step on 
the stairs. 

She is very neat, and keeps her things in 
excellent order. If any one misplaces any 
thing in her draws, she soon finds it out, 
and puts the thing back in its place again. 
When the clothes are brought in after being 
washed, in great baskets, she will go and 
pick out her own, without mistake. If her 
clothes are beginning to wear out, she dis- 
covers it, and mends them. 

Though there is no way of teaching her 
any thing about the Sabbath, yet she keeps 
it very strictly, and seems to be thinking 
about serious things. Though no one else 
can teach her, yet God can teach her ; for 
he can speak to the mind, by his Holy 
Spirit. 



JULIA BRACE. 75 

A great many more things I could tell 
you about this interesting girl; but I will 
not be tedious to you. One thing more I 
want to tell you. She is very good natured, 
cheerful and contented. When people are 
contented and cheerful, it shows that they 
are grateful for the things that they have ; 
but when they are fretful and peevish, and 
always complaining because they cannot 
have some things which they have not, 
they are very unthankful. Now, if Julia 
is contented when she can neither hear, see 
nor speak, surely you ought to be so. And 
if she is thankful for what she has, surely 
you ought to be much more so for what 
you have. She is very glad when spring 
comes, and she gathers the pretty flowers 
with dehght; for though she cannot see 
their beauty, she can smell their fragrance. 
She is very fond of the company of the 
girls at the asylum; for though they can- 
not say any thing to her, they can be kind 
to her ; they can give her their arms as they 
walk, and they can press her hand, to show 
that they love her. She sits at her knitting 



76 



THE SCOTCH BOY. 



or sewing in a neat, plain dress ; her coun- 
tenance is interesting,— -only her eyes 
are for ever closed. How do you suppose 
she can thread her needle ? I cannot tell 
you how she does it; but she always uses 
her tongue about it. 

There was also a boy in Scotland, named 
Mitchell, who, like Julia Brace, could 
neither hear, see, nor speak. But, like her, 
he could find out many things by feeling 
and smeUing. He could tell his own things 
from those that belonged to others. When 
a stranger came to his father's house, he 
knew it by the sense of smell; and he 
would go to the person and feel of him, to 
see who it was. He would first feel of his 
feet, to see if he wore boots. Then he 
would go and search for his whip ; and if 
he found it, he would go to the stable, and 
feel of his horse. If he came in a carriage, 
he would go and examine that, by feeling. 
He loved his father and mother, and brother 
and sister very much. When his father 
died, and was put in a cofiin, he went and 
laid down on the coffin ; and after his 



GRATITUDE. 77 

father was buried, he would go and stretch 
himself on the grave, and pat the turf 
gently with his hand. I could tell you 
many more things about him, but I suppose 
you are already tired. 

And now, dear children, how do you 
suppose you would feel if you could neither 
see, nor hear, nor speak? How dark it 
would be to you! Just put your hands 
over your eyes for a few minutes, and you 
will find how dark it is. But only think 
of such darkness all the time ! Then 
suppose you could not hear, — what would 
be your feelings? You could know nothing 
of all the pretty sounds you now hear—- the 
sweet music of the birds, the piano, the 
flute, and the organ; and above all, the 
kind,^ sweet voice of your mother, and the 
sprightly prattle of your little companions. 
The Scotch boy could hear none of these, 
and Julia Brace can hear none of them. But 
that is not all. What would be your feel- 
ings, if you could never speak^ — speak to 
your dear father and mother, to your 
brothers and sisters, and to your little corn- 
7:^ 



78 THE IDIOT BOY. 

panions,— never speak at all ? How many 
of the pleasures you now enjoy would be 
unknown to you ! But who gave you good 
eyes and ears, and made you capable of 
speaking ? It was your heavenly Father. 
Then certainly you should praise the Lord 
for his goodness to you. Praise him when 
you hear, — praise him when you see, — 
praise him when you speak, — praise him 
always. 

7. The idiot boy. 

Dear children, do you know what an 
idiot is 7 An idiot is a person that has no 
reason. A poor woman that lived by sell- 
ing fruit and candy, had a little boy that 
was an idiot. He sat all day at her feet ; 
and all he seemed to know was, that his 
mother loved him; and he was afraid of 
the school-boys, because they teazed him. 
It is very wicked and mean to teaze foolish 
persons. I hope you never do it It is 
very wicked, because God made the differ- 
ence between you and them. It is very 
mean, because if you were generous and 



THE IDIOT BOY. 79 

kind, you would pity them. It shows a 
very hard heart. Who would not feel sorry 
to see a poor boy that has so reason 7 

This little boy sat on the ground, by his 
mother's fruit stall, and did nothing but 
swing backwards and forwards, and sing 
pal lal^ pallal^ all day long, for that was all 
he could say, and all he knew how to do. 
He was very fond of his mother, and very 
thankful for her kindness. But he did not 
know that God gave him his mother. He 
did not know that there was a God. His 
mother would have taught him, but he did 
not know how to learn. But when his 
mother spread his bed for him to lie down 
at night, he would kneel down and kiss her 
feet. One day the poor woman and her 
idiot boy were missed from the market. 
The neighbors went to see what was the 
matter, and found her dead. The boy was 
sitting by her side, swinging, and singing 
his pal laliu a very sorrowful tone. When 
the neighbors spoke to him, he looked up, 
with a tear in his eye, clasped the cold 
hand of his mother more tenderly, and sung 



80 GRATITUDE. 

his mournful jt?a7 lal in a softer and sadder 
tone. He could not understand what they 
said, but he seemed to be touched with 
their kind looks. They took him away 
from his mother's body/ and he ran away 
into a corner of the room. ^' Poor creature," 
cried one of them ; ^^ what shall we do with 
him?'' The poor boy took up two handfuls 
of dust from the floor, and sprinkled them 
on his head, and then sung, in a wild and 
piercing tone, his doleful pal lal^ pal lal. 

Why is it, dear children, that you are 
not like this poor idiot? It is because God 
has given you reason. Praise God for your 
reason. Every time you think, remember 
you could not think if God had not given 
you reason. Praise him, then, in your 
hearts, and praise him in your song. And 
when you see a foolish person, do not laugh 
at him and teaze him, as the school-boys did 
this boy, for that is mocking God, instead 
of praising him. Pity him, and speak 
kindly to him,, and help him, and God will 
be pleased with you. 



THE POOR IDIOTS. 81 



8. The afflicted family . 

In a lonely place, about three miles from 
the Cayuga Lake, in the State of New- 
York, lived a poor family, in a house built 
of rough logs, with only one room. They 
had twelve children, six of them helpless. 
They had once been sprightly children; 
but as soon as they came to be from nine 
or ten to twelve or fourteen years old, the 
joints of their arms and legs began to swell, 
and to grow out of place, till they became 
so lame that they could not walk at all. 
They sat from morning to night, on stools 
or chairs, with rollers, so that they could 
be moved about. After their legs and 
arms began to swell, they began to lose 
their reason, till at last they became idiots. 
There they sat in their chairs, from day to 
day, clothed in rags. They could not walk 
about, and enjoy themselves, nor could 
they do any thing. When you are unwell, 
or when it storms, so that you cannot go 
out, you can sit in the house and look at 



82 PRAISE YE THE LORD. 

the pictures, and read in your books. But 
all these children could do was to sit and 
jabber with one another what nobody could 
understand. And how do you suppose 
their poor mother felt ? She was very sorry 
indeed to have her children so afflicted ; but 
she believed that God always does right ; 
and she praised God, and her soul was full 
of joy and peace. A gentleman called to 
see her, and asked her how she was. '^ O,'^ 
said she, ''I am about as happy as I can 
be, and live.'' And what do you think it 
was that made her happy 1 It was her 
love to the Saviour. 

Dear children, when you are walking 
about, and running and jumping, and en- 
joying yourselves, think of these poor chil- 
dren, and praise God that he has given you 
the use of your limbs, and of your reason. 
Praise God for your hands, — praise him for 
your feet, — praise him for your minds. 
" Praise ye the Lord ! " 



THE YOUNG PRINCE. 83 



CHAPTER VI. 

PRAYER. 

1. Not too young to pray. 

Some little children may think they are 
too young to pray. A young prince, son 
of the king of England, asked his teacher 
to tell him about religion, and teach him to 
pray. But his teacher told him he was too 
young. ^^That cannot be," said the boy, 
"for I have been in the burying-ground 
and measured the graves, and I find many 
of them shorter than myself" That is a 
very good reason why you are not too 
young to pray ; you are not too young to 
die. But, dear children, perhaps some of 
you think that God is so great that he will 
not take notice of a little child ; or that he 
will be displeased if you pray to him. 
But Christ says, "Not a sparrow shall 
fall to the ground without your heavenly 
Father." God takes care of the little birds ; 



84 NOT TOO YOUNG TO PRAY. 

and do you think he will not listen to the 
prayer of a little child? Jesus says, ^'Suf- 
fer little children to come unto me, and 
forbid them not." Do you think he would 
have said that, if he did not like to have 
them pray to him? But he says again, 
''they that seek me early shall find me.'' 
He invites you to come to him early^ while 
you are yet children ; and he says if you 
will come you shall find him. Yes ; and 
he says he is more willing to give the Holy 
Spirit, if you ask him, than earthly parents 
are to give good things to their children. 
You do not think you are too young to ask 
your parents for the things you need for 
your body. Then surely you need not 
think you are too young to ask God for the 
things you need for your souls. 

2. Time to pray. 

A little boy, who went to infant school, 

stood up one day and said, '' Master, I 

wish you would let us say our prayers 

three times a day." ''Why do you wish 

hat?" inquired his teacher. " Becausie, 



TIME TO PRAY. 85 

sir,'' said the boy, ^^ Daniel said his three 
times a day." ^'O," said another boy, 
^^but David said his seven times a day." 
^'And," said another, ^' Jesus said we ought 
alioays to pray." Now, dear children, 
which of these boys do you think was 
right? Ah, they w^ere all right. We ought 
certainly to pray as often as morning, noon 
and night ; and if we pray seven times a 
day, it will do us good. But besides going 
away by ourselves to pray, several times a 
day, we must always pray in our hearts. 
When you are tempted to sin, you must 
pray in your heart that God would keep 
you from it ; and when you are going to do 
any thing that is right and proper, you 
must pray in your heart that God would 
bless you in doing it. 

You should never go about any thing, 
after you rise in the morning, till you have 
thanked the great God for keeping you 
while you slept, and asked his blessing for 
the day. A little girl, who Avas remarkably 
obedient to her parents, was one m.orning 
unwilling to go to school when her n^other 
8 



86 



LITTLE JANE. 



told her to. ^^ My dear/' said her mother, 
'^ why do you not wish to go? It is high 
time, — the bell has rung, — so put on your 
bonnet, and get ready, or, I fear, you will 
be late ; and if you are, you know it will 
displease your teacher, for she does not 
like to have her scholars late.'' '' I cannot 
go yet," said the little girl. '• What is the 
matter, Jane?" said her mother; ''don't 
you feel well ? " '' Yes, mama ; but I have 
this morning neglected to go by myself; I 
have not thanked my heavenly Father for 
the kind care he has taken of me the past 
night; neither have I asked him to keep 
me from sin during the day. I am sure I 
cannot think of going to school till I do." 

Her mother would have had her put off 
praying till she should come home from 
school, or go, praying only in her thoughts; 
but Jane, — for that was the name of the 
little girl, — had once tried that, and could 
not think of doing it again; for nothing 
went right with her all day, when she did 
so. She had no objection to praying in her 
mind as she was going to school, or about 



SEEKING GOD EARLY. 87 

her workj but she must have some time by 
herself in the morning. Then her mother 
allowed her to go and seek God's blessing; 
which she did, and was happy and cheerful 
all day. So it will be with you, dear 
children. If you neglect to seek God in the 
morning, every thing will be likely to go 
wrong with you. You will fret at your 
lessons, and fret at your plays, and be 
-angry with your little brothers and sisters, 
and be unhappy all day. But if you go 
away by yourself in the morning, and pray 
to God till your heart is tender, and you 
feel that God is with you, then every thing 
will be likely to go well with you,— you 
will be pleased with your lessons, and 
pleased with your play, — you will love 
your brothers and sisters and little com- 
panions, and be happy. Sir Matthew Hale, 
a great and good man, said that when he 
neglected to read the Bible and pray to God 
in the morning, every thing went ill with 
him through the day ; but every thing went 
well with him when he spent some time 
with God early in the morning. Will you 
try it, and see if it is not so with you? 



88 MORNING PRAYER. 

But can you tell me what little Jane did 
that was wrong that morning that she was 
not ready to go to school when the bell 
rung? Ah, she had been dilatory; she 
ought to have prayed to God long before 
that time. Perhaps she did not rise so early 
as she ought; or, if she did, she put off 
praying till she had done something else. 
It is a wonder she had not gone all day 
without praying. But God was kind to 
her, and put it into her heart to pray before 
she went to school. But then she was 
late ; and it is wrong to be late at school. 
I suppose she lost the morning prayer of 
her teacher by it. She ought to have 
prayed early in the morning, and been 
ready for school in season. But as it was, 
she did better to be late at school than to 
neglect prayer. 

A boy who went to the Sabbath school 
was asked whether he prayed to God ; to 
which he answered, ^' I should be afraid to 
leave my home in the morning, and go into 
the streets; and I should be afraid to go to 
sleep at nighty if I did not first ask God's 



PRAYING AT NIHGT. 89 

blessing and protection.'' Another little boy, 
six years of age, was put to bed one night 
by the nurse, because his mother had com- 
pany. Pretty soon, some one came running 
to his mother, and teUing her that he was 
crying very much. So she hastened to his 
bedroom ; for he was a good boy, and not 
apt to cry. She found him very unhappy, 
and feeling very bad. She asked him what 
was the matter. ^'O, mama," said he, 
^^ nurse has put me to bed, without hearing 
me say my prayers, and I dare not go to 
sleep, without asking God to watch over 
me while I sleep ! " His mother was afraid 
he would take cold, if he got up ; and she 
told him he might kneel and say his prayers 
in bed. '^No, mama," said he, ^^I must 
kneel on the floor ; God will not listen to 
me, if I say my prayers in bed." 

But if you have other times for praying, 
besides night and morning, you must 
always remember them. A little girl had 
set apart a certain time in the evening for 
prayer. She was on a visit away from 
home ; and while she was sitting with the 
8^ 



90 PLACE TO PRAY. 

family in the evening, they saw that she 
was restless and uneasy. The children 
wondered what the matter was. Pretty 
soon she began to cry. Then the good 
woman, who was taking care of the chil- 
dren, asked her why she felt so unhappy. 
She told her that was the time when she 
always went alone to pray, and she had 
no where to go. The lady then showed 
her a room where she might be alone; and 
after she had been there a while, she came 
back to her young friends, cheerful and 
happy. Some children think it is a very 
dull and gloomy thing to pray. It is, 
indeed, if you only say your prayers ; but 
if you feel what you say, and pray with 
your heart as well as your lips, it is 
pleasant, and will make you feel comfort- 
able and happy. 

3. Place to pray. 

Jesus says, when we pray we must enter 
into our closets, and shut our doors. He 
means that our private prayers should be 
in some secret place, where nobody but 



THE HEATHEN BOY. 9X 

God can see us. But he does not mean 
that we must never pray with others ; for 
we must pray together in the family, in the 
Sabbath school, and in meeting ; and when 
friends meet, they may pray together. But 
he means that our own prayers should be 
in secret. ^^ But," says a little boy, ^' where 
shall I go ? I have no place to go, where I 
can be alone to pray." I will tell you what 
I think. If you loved to pray, you would 
find a place. A little heathen boy, who 
had no Christian father or mother to teach 
him, was, for a short time, in a Sabbath 
school at Bombay ; and then he went away, 
and the missionaries did not know what 
had become of him. But one of them went 
a long journey, preaching to the people as 
he went. One very warm day, as he was 
walking under the shade of some trees, he 
heard a voice up in the trees, saying, 
^' Jesus, my blessed Saviour, my heart 
renew thou, my sins forgive thou, my soul 
save thou." He could hardly believe that 
he heard the voice of prayer, away in that 
lonely placC; among the heathen. But 



92 THE HEATHEN BOY. 

when he looked up, he saw a Utile boy in 
one of the trees, praying earnestly to Jesus 
for a new heart. He stopped and asked 
him where he learned such a prayer. The 
boy told him that he had been at the Sab- 
bath school at Bombay, and learned to 
pray there. '^ And since I came back," 
said he, ^' I have no one to teach me; but 
I have a leaf of the Testament, and I read 
it, and go every day and pray Jesus Christ 
to give me a new heart. I am the only 
one within forty miles that can read ; and 
I have collected the little boys, and am 
teaching them, that they may read about 
their Saviour.'' This boy loved to pray, 
and you see he could find a place where he 
was alone, though the house he lived in 
was probably a little hut, with but one 
room. O, how many boys and girls there 
are, who have most convenient places for 
prayer, but never retire to pray, and who 
have the whole Bible, and yet never read 
it ! But this little boy, though he had no 
place for prayer, and had only one leaf of 
the Testament; yet not only read and 



PRAY TO GOD. 93 

prayed himself, but gathered other Uttle 
boys together and taught them to read and 
pray. But there was another praying httle 
boy. His parents Uved in a httle house 
with but one room. Some one asked hhn 
where he went when he prayed. ^'O," 
said he, ^'sometimes I go into the closet, 
and sometimes into the coal-room." So, 
you see, if you really want to pray, you 
can jSnd a place. 

4. Pray to God, 

Children sometimes think they must say 
their prayers to their father or mother, or 
to some other person : and if they have no 
one to say them to, they think they cannot 
pray. Who is it that such children pray 
to? Do they pray to their father and 
mother, or to God? A little boy about 
three years old, whose name was William, 
Avas very fond of the Bible. He said he 
loved it better than any other book, be- 
cause it was the book of God, and all true. 
He would ask his mother to read to him, 
after he had lain down on his little bed at 



94 PRAY WITH THE HEART. 

night, the history of Uttle Samuel, and Jo- 
seph ; bat more than all, he loved to hear 
about Jesus, who, as he said one day, 
taught him every thing that was good, 
while naughty things came from his own 
wicked heart. One night as he was going 
to bed, his mother being called away, bade 
him ^^ good night," and told him he might 
say his prayers to Sarah. Little William 
answered and said, ^^I'U say my prayers 
to God^ mother." So ought all children to 
say their prayers to God ; and not only say 
but feel them too. 

5. Pray with the heart, 

I have frequently told you that you must 
pray with your hearts. I am now going 
to tell you of some children that did pray 
with their hearts, that you may understand 
what I mean. A child, six years old, said 
that, in the time of prayer, in the Sabbath 
school, it seemed as if his heart talked. Is 
it so with you, dear children ? Does your 
heart talk when you hear others pray ? If 
you stand up or krieel down with others 



LITTLE PRAYING GIRL. 95 

when they pray, you profess to pray with 
theni, and if you do not pray, you he to 
God, hke wicked Ananias and Sapphira, 
who were struck down dead. So, also, 
when you pray to God, by yourselves, if 
your heart does not talk, you mock him; 
and do you think the great God will be 
pleased with you if you mock him ? 

A little girl in London, about four years 
old, was one day playing with her com- 
panions. After the little girls had been 
playing a while, she took them by the hand, 
and leading them to a shed in the yard, 
asked them all to kneel down, as she was 
going to pray. ^^But don't you tell my 
mother," said she, ''for she never prays; 
and she would beat me, if she knew that I 
pray." It is not so, I hope, with you, dear 
children ; your mothers would be delighted 
to hear that you pray ; and if any of you 
do not pray, you ought to be ashamed of 
it, when yon hear of this little girl who 
prayed at the risk of being beaten. But 
one of her playmates was a tell-tale^ which 
you know is a very bad character; for she 



96 PRAYING IN THE HEAKT. 

ran right away and told the little girl's 
mother. Some time after, when she went 
in, her mother asked her what she had 
been doing in the yard; but she was afraid 
to tell, at first, though she did not tell a lie 
about it. But her mother talked kindly to 
her, and promised not to be angry, if she 
would tell. So the little girl said, ^'I have 
been praying to God." '' But why do you 
pray to him?" asked her mother. '' Be- 
cause," said she, ^'I know that God hears 
me, and I love to pray to him." ''But 
how do you know God hears you?" in- 
quired her mother. '' O," replied the little 
girl, putting her hand on her heart. ''I 
know he does, because there is something 
here that tells me he does." That little girl 
prayed in her heart ; and if you pray in 
your heart, there will be something there 
that will tell you that he hears you ; for 
Jesus says, '' Behold, I stand at the door 
and knock. If any man hear my voice 
and open the door, I will come in to him, 
and will sup with him, and he with me." 
Little Phebe Bartlett was one day thinking 



PHEBE BARTLETT. 97 

of this text, and she was very much ani- 
mated ; she spoke of it with great joy, with 
a smiUng face, and with her voice raised. 
Then she went into another room, where 
the rest of the children were, and her 
mother heard her talking very earnestly 
to them about it. She said, three or four 
times, with great joy, and wonder, ^^Why 
it is to sup with GodP^ And Jesus says, 
*'If any man love me, he will keep my 
words, and my Father will love him, and 
we will come unto him, and make our 
abode with him." Yes, dear children, if 
you love Jesus, and pray to him in your 
hearts, he will come into your hearts: and 
God the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit will dwell with you, and not depart, 
but make their abode with you for ever. 

6. Confess your sins ivhen you pray. 

When you come before God in prayer, 
you must confess your sins; for the Bible 
says, ^' He that confesseth and forsaketh 
his sins, shall find mercy." A little girl, 
four years old, was reproved for something 
9 



98 CONFESS YOUR SINS. 

she had done wrong, and she went and 
knelt down and said, ^'O, my heavenly 
Father, I am a very naughty girl indeed. 
Be pleased to forgive me, and may I never 
do so again." That was a very proper 
prayer, except in one respect. Can you 
tell what that is ? She confessed her sins ; 
that was very well. She asked God if he 
would please to forgive her, and keep her 
from doing so again ; that was very well. 
But she did not offer her prayer in the 
name of Christ, and that left it imperfect. 
She ought to have asked if God would 
do these things for her for Ckrisfs sake. 
Then it would have been right. 

A little girl, named Sarah, about five 
years old, had a pretty little sister, who 
had just begun to run about and play, but 
could not talk. One afternoon, they went 
into their father's study, and finding no 
one there, Sarah amused herself for a long 
time, in drawing pictures on clean white 
paper, with the pen and ink which her 
father had left there. Was she doing right ? 
After a while, she upset the ink-bottle, and 



A WICKED LIE. 99 

spilled the ink on the floor. Then she left 
little Mary, and ran off to her mother, 
and with a sorrowful countenance, said, 
'' Ma, Mary has spilt over the ink on Pa's 
floor." As Mary could not talk, there was 
no one to contradict Sarah ; and she thought 
her mother could not find out who did it, 
because nobody saw her; but she forgot 
that there was one eye upon her. At 
night, when Sarah came to her mother to 
say her prayers, she felt very bad. She 
was ashamed to come before God, when 
he knew that she had been telling a lie. 
She kneeled down ; but she could not pray. 
Then she looked up sorrowfully to her 
mother, and said, ^- Mother, I must confess 
one thing to you, before I say my prayers." 
'^ Why, my dear," said her mother, '^ what 
do you wish to confess ! " Sarah looked 
very sad, and said, ^' It was not Mary, but 
I, that spilt the ink this afternoon; and I 
did'nt dare to say my prayers, till I had 
confessed to you that I had told a lie." 

So you must feel. You cannot go before 
God with confidence, without confessing 



100 LOVE TO PRAY. 

your sins ; and if you have sinned against 
others, as Sarah had against her mother, 
you must confess to them, before you pray 
to God ; for if you regard iniquity in your 
heart, or love sin, he will not hear you. 

When Sarah's mother saw that she was 
very sorry for what she had done, she for- 
gave her; but she told her that she had 
sinned against God, and she must ask him 
to forgive her. So little Sarah knelt down, 
and asked the great God to forgive her. 
Then she rose, and kissed her mother, bade 
her good night, and went to bed. In the 
morning, she rose early and met her moth- 
er with a bright and smiling countenance. 
But if she had not confessed her sin, she 
would have hung down her head, and been 
afraid to look her mother in the face. 

8. We must love to pray. 

^^ Don't walk so fast, Lucy," said a 
little girl eight or nine years old, to her 
companions on the way to school ; '^ I hope 
the door will be shut before we get there, 

for I do not hke to hear Mr. pray 

every morning." 



GOD HEARS PRAYER. 101 

*^ Mother," said little Albert, ^^Ido not 
want any dinner to-day." ^^Why, my 
son," said his mother, '^ are you sick ! " 
'^No, mother; but the bell is ringing for 
the Sabbath school. May I get my cap 
and go?" ^'You had better wait, my 
dear," said his mother: '4f you are a few 
minutes too late this cold weather, your 
teacher will excuse you." '' I know she 
will," said Albert; ^'but last Sabbath I 
felt so unhappy because I was not there to 
kneel down with the children when they 
prayed, that every thing went wrong." 

Which of these children do you think 
loved God ? If you do not love to pray it 
is a sure sign that you do not love God ; 
for you always like to talk with those you 
love ; and praying is speaking to God. 

9. God hears the prayers of little children. 

Do you believe that God will hear the 

prayers of little children, and give them 

what they need? Would your parents 

refuse to give you a piece of bread when 

9* 



102 PRAYING FOR BROTHER. 

you are hungry? But Jesus says, our 
heavenly Father is more willing to give 
his Holy Spirit to them that ask him than 
earthly parents are to give good things to 
their children. When little Julia was 
about eight years old, she came down from 
her chamber one morning, and asked her 
mother if she might have fifteen minutes to 
go and pray. '^ Certainly, my dear,'' said 
her kind mother. After she had prayed 
fifteen minutes, she came down and asked 
if she might have fifteen minutes more, 
which her mother gave her; but when 
this time was out, she came down again, 
and said, ^' Now, ma, may I go and pray 
as long as I want to 7 " '' Why, JuHa, my 
dear, what makes you want to pray this 
morning so much longer than other morn- 
ings?" ^* My little brother David doesn't 
love the Saviour," said she; ^'I want to 
pray for him." Her mother turned round 
to wipe the tear which was starting from 
her eye, and said, " Yes, Julia, you may go 
and pray as long as you want to." 
She spent a long time in her chamber 



PRAY FOR OTHERS. 103 

praying for her dear little brother. The 
Saviour, who loves to hear the prayers of 
the young, heard her prayers, and an- 
swered them. Her brother was soon led 
by the Holy Spirit to repent of his sins and 
trust in the Saviour. O how happy Julia 
was, when she found that David had be- 
gun to love the Saviour ! Do you think, 
dear children, that Jesus was any more 
willing to hear Julia's prayers, than he is 
to hear the prayers of any little child that 
loves him? No; if you love him, and 
pray to him for his Holy Spirit, he will 
hear your prayers and answer them. 

You see, also, dear children, that you 
should pray for others as well as for your- 
selves. You ought to feel sorry when you 
see others who do not love the Saviour; 
for Jesus himself felt sorry for the wicked, 
and wept over them. Perhaps some little 
children think they can do no good to oth- 
ers ; but you see that Julia, who was only 
eight years old, did her little brother's soul 
a great deal of good by praying for him, 
and you may do the same. 



104 PRAYER ANSWERED. 

But I have another story to tell yoUj 
which shows that the Lord Jesus feels for 
the sorrows of a little child, and that you 
may pour them into his ear with the same 
confidence that you would tell them to 
your mother. Why should you not? He 
was once a little child; and he knows how 
little children feel. A little boy between 
three and four years old, whose mother 
was very sick, was seen to sit very still, 
and look very serious. After a while his 
mother got better, and he went to her bed- 
side and said, ^'Mother, I didn't think you 
would die." ^'Why not, my son?'' said 
his mother. *• Because," said he, ^'I 
prayed to God that he would not take my 
good mama from me." It is not certain 
that God will save the lives of your friends 
because you pray for them, for he may see 
that it is better to take them to himself; 
and so in such cases, you should say as 
Jesus did, when he was praying in the 
garden, ^' Not my will, but thine, be done ;" 
yet, you may be sure he will always an- 
swer your prayerSjas he did this little boy's, 



THE ORPHAN BOYS. 105 

if it is best that you should have the things 
that you ask for. And would you wish to 
have any thing that it is not best for you 
to have ? 

But I can tell you another story, which 
shows that Jesus feels for little children in 
their troubles. Two little boys, who lived 
in Boston lost both father and mother, 
when they were infants. They had no 
other friend in the world but a grandmoth- 
er. She was old and poor; but she con- 
trived to take care of them till one was 
eight and the other ten years old. She 
then got them places to live at, in Groton. 
But in a little while she died. One day as 
Mr Todd, the minister, was going into the 
pulpit, one of these little boys handed him 
a note, and asked him if he would read it 
to the people. He was very much affected 
with it, and did not know at first whether 
he ought to read it or not. Bat he did read 
it, and it was, ^' Thomas and John have 
lost their old grandmother, and now they 
haven't any friend left, and they Avant the 
people to pray for them.'' The people 



106 COMFORT IN PRAYER. 

were very much affected, when they heard 
it. and they prayed very earnestly for the 
little boys, and God heard their prayers. 
The Lord blessed them, as it was hoped, 
and changed their hearts; and in a httle 
while they were united to the church. 

10. Comfort in sprayer. 

Dear children, are you ever in trouble? 
I know you are. A great many times you 
feel troubled with your little affairs. Well, 
does not your father pity you, Avhen he 
sees you in distress? When you are sick 
and in pain, does he not come and place 
your hand kindly in his own, and talk 
gently and tenderly to you? ^' Like as a 
father pitieth his children, so the Lord pit- 
ieth them that fear him." And if you 
always go to him when you are in trouble, 
no matter what it is, he will comfort you. 
A gentleman went once to visit a woman 
who was soon to die; and when he went 
into her house, he heard the voice of a little 
child. He stopped and listened, and heard 
a little boy saying, ^^ O Lord, bless my poor 



GOOD LITTLE BOY. 107 

mother, and prepare her to die ! O God, 
I thank thee that I have been sent to a 
Sabbath school, and have there been taught 
to read my Bible: and there learnt that, 
' when my father and mother forsake me, 
thou wilt take me up ! ' This comforts 
me, now that my poor mother is going to 
leave me ; may it comfort her, and may 
she go to heaven — and may I go there too ! 
O Lord Jesus, pity a poor child ! and pity 
my poor dear mother, and help me to say, 
^ Thy will be done/ '^ He stopped, and the 
gentleman opened the door and went in. 
After a moment's pause, he said, ^'Your 
child has been praying with you ; I have 
listened to his prayer.'' ''Yes,'' said she, 
^' he is a dear child. Thank God, he has 
been sent to a Sabbath school. I cannot 
read myself, but he can ; and he has read 
the Bible to me, and I hope I have reason 
to bless God for it. I have learned from 
him that I am a sinner ; I have heard from 
him of Jesus Christ ; and I do — yes, I do, 
as a poor sinner, put my trust in him. I 
hope he has forgiven me. I am going to 



108 LEARNING TO PRAY. 

die, but I am not afraid. My dear child 
has been the means of saving my soul. O 
how thankful am I that he was sent to a 
Sabbath school." Were not this dear boy 
and his poor mother comforted by prayer ? 

11. Learning to pray. 

Do you pray, my child ? ^^ I don't know 
how to," says one. Well, I will tell you 
a story that will show how you may learn 
to pray. There was a little girl named 
Ellen, about nine years old, who was a 
very quiet, thoughtful child. She had been 
to Sabbath school from the time she was 
old enough to read, and had always tried 
to do as her teacher told her to. One day 
she came running into the house in a great 
hurry. And what do you think it was she 
wanted ? She took her chair and sat down 
by her mother, and said, ''Mother, almost 
every Sabbath, when I go to school, my 
teacher asks me if I have learned to pray. 
I tell him that I always say, ' Our Fa- 
ther,' every night when I go to bed, and 
every morning when I get up, and still she 



LEARNING TO PRAY. 109 



asks me if I have been praying this week, 
or if I have learned to pray. What does 
my teacher mean, mother? How can I 
learn to pray but by saying, ^ Our Father, 
who art in heaven,' as you always told 
me?" *^I will tell you, my dear," said 
her mother. '' But first tell me why you 
say your prayers every night and morn- 
ing." Because, you always told me to, 
mother, and said I should be naughty, and 
God wouldn't love me if I didn't." Is that 
all ttie reason, my dear ? Do you not pray 
to God because you love him, and because 
you know he hears your prayer, and will 
give you what you ask for?" ^'I don't 
know, ma. How can such a little girl as I 
pray so? I can't see God." 

^'No, my dear," said her mother; but, 
before she had time to say any more, some 
company came in, and Ellen had to go 
away without knowing how to pray any 
better than she did before. The company 
staid all the evening, and she had to go to 
bed and say her prayer, as she had always 
done, wondering what more her teacher 
10 



110 THE SICK GIRL. 

could wish her to do. But she laid awake 
a good while, thinking about it, and won- 
dering what her mother was going to say 
to her. 

When Ellen awoke the next morning, 
she felt quite sick. Her head ached very 
much. She knew not what to do. She 
tried to get up, but that made her head 
ache worse. Then she began to cry and 
call her mother. '^O mother," said she, 
as soon as her mother opened the door, 
^'I am very sick, and my head feels very 
bad — mother, do help me — mother, what 
shall I do?" Her mother told her to lie 
down and keep as still as she could, while 
she went and prepared something for her 
to take that would make her feel better. 
Pretty soon, her mother came and took her 
into her own room, where there was a 
warm fire, and gave her such medicine as 
she needed. Here she watched over her 
all day and all night; and when Ellen 
wanted any thing, she asked her mother 
for it, and if it was any thing that it was 
proper for her to have, her mother gave it 



ABOUT PRAYER. Ill 

to her; for she loved her very much, and 
wanted to gratify her. But if Ellen asked 
for any thing that her mother knew would 
hurt her, she did not give it to her. 

The next day Ellen was better; and in 
the afternoon she was able to sit up and 
talk with her mother. ^'Now, my dear," 
said her mother, '' I will tell you what you 
wanted to knov*r about prayer, the other 
day. When you woke up yesterday morn- 
ing, and felt sick, what did you call me 
for 7 " ^' Because," said Ellen, '' I felt very 
bad, I did not know what to do for myself" 
^^ But why did you call me when I was 
not in the room, and you could not see 
me?" ^'Because," said Ellen, ^^I thought 
you could hear me, and I thought you would 
come to me, and I am sure you love me, 
and will always try to make me well when 
I am sick." ^' And what made you think," 
said her mother, ^' that I could do any thing 
for you, to make you better ? " ^^ Because," 
said Ellen, ^^ you always do, when I am 
sick, and you do every thing for me al- 
ways." 



112 WHAT PRAYER IS. 

^^Well, my dear Ellen," said her moth- 
er, ^4f you will remember all this, it will 
help you to know something about praying 
to God. You could not see me, and yet 
you called to me. Now this was as prayer 
to me. And when you believed that I 
should hear you, that was as faith in me. 
Did you need any one to teach you what 
to say to me? No; your own feelings 
taught you what to say. You knew what 
you wanted, and you asked me for it. 
Now, if you do the same towards God, it 
will be prayer. Though you cannot see 
him, you must believe that he is near, and 
and that he will hear you, and give you 
the things that you ask for, if they are such 
things as he sees will be best for you. 
You thought I should help you, because I 
love you, and always have helped you 
when you have been sick before. God 
loves all those that love him. He is your 
heavenly Father, and has given you every 
good thing you have ever had ; and he says 
he is more willing to give even his Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him, than earthly 



HOW TO FEEL IN PRAYER. 113 

parents are to give good gifts to their chil- 
dren. When you called me, you felt that 
you could not do any thing for yourself. 
You were helpless. So, when you pray to 
God, you must feel that you are helpless, 
and can do nothing without his Holy Spir- 
it; and, if you feel your need, you will not 
want any one to tell you what to say, any 
more than you did when you called to me. 
But God says he will give us his Holy 
Spirit to teach us how to ask, and what 
things to ask for. 

10^ 



114 FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



CHAPTER VII. 



LOVE TO GOD — FIRST COMMANDMENT. 

" Thou Shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God vi^ith all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy mind." 

1. The little girl that was afraid she 
should make her dolls her idols. 

Lucy Ann was a very serious, thought- 
ful child, when only two or three years old. 
She always prayed night and morning; 
and she would ask questions about Christ 
and heaven. When she was four or five 
years old, she had a great many dolls and 
toys, which her friends had given her ; of 
these she was very fond, and would often 
sit down and play with them. One day, 
after she had been a long time at play, she 
came into the room where her mother was, 
looking very sorrowful, as though she had 
been crying. Her mother asked her what 
was the matter. She burst into tears, and 



LITTLE IDOLS. 115 

could not speak. ^^Come, my dear," said 
her mother, ^^ tell me Avhat is the matter?" 
After a httle while, she said, ^''I am afraid 
I have been making my dolls my idols. ^^ 
When her mother went where Lucy Ann 
had been playing, she found she had taken 
all her dolls and some of her other play- 
things, and broken them in pieces and burnt 
them to ashes. Now, dear children, did 
this little girl think and feel right about her 
dolls, or did she not? It was wrong, no 
doubt, for her to think more of them, and 
love them better than God. If she did, she 
made them her gods, and broke the first 
commandment. But did she do right, to 
break and burn them ? I do not know but 
she did, if she found they were drawing 
her heart away from God ; for Jesus says, 
^' If thy right hand offend thee (or make 
thee sin) cut it off." 

2. The little girl that loved God first, 

A gentleman called to see a family, 
where there were several children. The 
father and mother were not at home, so he 



116 LOVE GOD FIRST. 

began to talk with the children. He asked 
a little girl, about five years old, whom she 
loved. She said she loved God. Then he 
asked her again, ''Whom else do you love7" 
and she answered, "My father and mother 
and brothers and sisters." This little girl 
gave God the place in her heart, which be- 
longs to him. She loved him first, and 
then her parents, and then her other friends. 
This is what is required by the first com- 
mandment. You must give God the first 
or highest place in your heart. 

Another very little girl was asked by a 
visiter in the Sabbath school, " Do you love 
your teacher?" "Yes," said she. "Do 
you love your parents?" "I do," she an- 
swered, " hut 1 love Christ more than all of 
them.'''' That, too, is what is required by 
the first commandment. 

3. The little girl that loved Christ more 
than her father and mother. 
A little girl, who had a very wicked fa- 
ther, Avent to a Sabbath school, where she 
heard about Jesus Christ. When her father 



LOVE CHRIST FIRST. 117 

heard that she went to the Sabbath school, 
he told her that she must not go. She did 
not think he meant positively to forbid her 
going; and the next Sabbath she went as 
usual. But her father and mother, brothers 
and sisters, were very angry with her for 
going; and told her if she went again, they 
would turn her out of doors. This was 
pretty trying ; but when Sabbath morning 
came, she dressed herself for school, and 
going to her father, took him by the hand 
and said, ^'Father, I love you, but I love 
Jesus Christ more, so now I bid you fare- 
Well !" She took leave also of her mother 
and brothers and sisters, in the same way, 
and then went to school, supposing she 
would not be allowed to come home. This 
shows what is meant by loving God more 
than father and mother and friends. You 
must love him so much, that if you can 
have but one, you will choose God before 
them. And you need not fear to do so. 
This little girl suffered no harm in conse- 
quence. Her father, instead of turning her 
out of doors, was so affected when she bade 



118 LITTLE ELIZA. 

him farewell, that he followed her to the 
Sabbath school, where they were at length 
joined by the mother, and all the family. 
So she lost nothing by preferring the favor 
of God above that of her father and mother, 
brothers and sisters. 

4. The little girl that waiited to go home 
to heaven, 

A little girl, eight years old, named Eliza 
Ann Gillison, was taken sick with a fever. 
When she had been sick three days, she 
said she wanted to go home. ^^ My dear," 
said her father, ''you are at home, with 
your dear father and mother." '' O no," 
said she, ''I mean my happy home in 
heaven ;" for she was thinking of the 
hymn, ''Jerusalem, my happy home." 
Her father asked her if she wished to leave 
her father and mother. "O yes, dear fa- 
ther and mother," said she, "I love you, 
but I love God much more. He has done 
more for me than either of you. Do send 
for my dear Mr. Walsh, to pray God to 
come and take me hence. I long to go, — 



PROOF OF LOVE TO GOD. 119 

I want to go this moment." When Mr. 
Walsh came in, he asked her what he 
should pray for. '^O," said she, ^^that 
God would come and take me to heaven." 
^^To leave your dear mother?" said Mr. 
Walsh. ''O yes," said she, ^'I love God 
more than all here." ''And for what do 
you love him?" inquired Mr. Walsh. ''O, 
he is so good," she answered, '* he gives me 
all I have, and he sent his dear Son to die 
for me. O yes, sir, Jesus died for me, and 
now I long to go away to see God." This 
little girl obeyed the first commandment. 
She loved God more than her father andl 
mother and her home. 

5. How to prove that we love God, 

We like to be with them that we love, 
and talk with them and about them. So, 
if we love God, we shall love to be with 
him and talk to him and of him. As two 
little girls were at play, one asked the other 
if she loved Jesus. ''O yes," said she. ''And 
do you pray to him?" "No," said she, 
"I do not pray to him." Now that wasi 



120 NOT LOVING GOD. 

strange love, was - it not, that she should 
love Jesus, and should never wish to pray 
to him? Would you think any of your 
little companions loved you, if they would 
never speak to you ? So it cannot be that 
you love God, if you never pray to him. 

6. The boy that ivould not go to meeting, 

*' I don't want to go to meeting, to-day," 
said James, ^^my head aches; and if it 
didn't, I could just as well stay at home and 
read, as to go." The fact was, James did 
not like to go to the house of God, there to 
acknowledge and worship him as his God. 
And what do you think he did, when his 
mother was gone to church? He had 
agreed with another boy to go with him 
to steal apples ; and this is what he did. 
And now can you tell me how many com- 
mandments he broke? He broke five, one 
half of the whole ten. First, if he had 
loved God, he would have obej^ed him. 
No disobedient child properly loves his 
parents. And then, if we take God for 
our only Lord God, according to the first 



BAD BOY PUNISHED. 121 

commandmentj we must obey him, out of 
regard to his authority, which requires 
obedience, and disobeying any other of 
his commandments is breaking the first. 
James broke the ninth commandment, 
when he deceived his mother as to his 
reason for wishing to stay from meeting. 
He broke the fourth by going away to seek 
his pleasure on God's holy day. He broke 
the tenth when he coveted the apples, and 
the eighth when he stole them. And what 
do you suppose became of this naughty 
boy 1 He climbed upon an apple tree, and 
his foot slipping while he was filling his 
pockets, he fell and struck his head on a 
stone, which injured him so much that 
when his companions came to him, and 
took him up, they found he was dead. 



11 



122 WRONG ROADo 



CHAPTER VIII. 

WHAT IT IS TO BE LOST. 

1. The wrong road, 

A little boy, very fond of play, and very 
full of fun, walking along, came to a place 
where there were two ways. He was so 
giddy and thougtitless that he never stop- 
ped to inquire which was the right way, 
but ran on, and took the wrong road. Two 
men were passing by, and one of them call- 
ed to him and told him he was taking the 
wrong road, or probably he would have 
been lost, and perhaps never have been 
found. So it is, dear children. There are 
two ways before you ; one is very broad, and 
appears very smooth and pleasant to walk 
in ; the other is narrow and steep, and very 
difficult. You are all naturally inclined to 
walk in the broad way ; but the Bible, and 
your teachers, and the minister are all call- 



THE TWO WAYS. 123 

ing to you to retiirrij saying, ^^ You are in 
the wrong road." What will you do? 
You may think the broad road a great deal 
the most pleasant road ; but if you keep on 
in it, you will find it will soon become steep 
and slippery: and after a while, you will 
come to a steep bank, where you will slip 
off into a great lake. That steep bank is 
death; and that lake is the lake which 
burns with fire and brimstone for ever and 
ever. But if you take the narrow road, 
though it will be difficult at first, it will 
grow more easy ; and after a while you will 
come in sight of a beautiful field, all full 
of flowers and fruits, with a fine house, 
where, after stepping over a little brook, 
you can live as happy as you please. That 
little brook is death, — tha|; fine field is 
heaven; Jesus says, ^^In my Father's 
house are many mansions ; " and there will 
be no night there, no pain nor sorrow ; but 
all will be joy and love for ever. Now, 
dear children, which of these ways will 
you choose ? 



124 LOST CHILDREN. 

2. The lost children. 

Two little children ran away from home, 
and got lost. They had always lived in 
town, and they were glad to find them- 
selves in the country, where they could 
ramble in the fields all covered with red 
clover. They ran after the butterflies, and 
talked with the birds, and thought them- 
selves very happy. But by-and-by they 
began to feel tired and hungry, and they 
wished themselves at home again, where 
they could sit down by their mother, and 
eat the nice things she used to give them. 
But they were not old enough to know 
the way back. They walked round and 
round, and yet they could not find the way 
home. The younger one tried to step over 
a brook, and so lost his shoe in the mud. 
Next the stones cut his bare foot, as he 
went on, and made it bleed. Finally the 
poor little fellow laid down in the grass and 
cried, and called ^' Mama, mama!" His 
brother washed his foot with water from 
the brook, and made it feel better. They 



TO BE LOST. 125 

could find nothing to eat but two straw- 
berries; and these were all they had for 
their dinner, supper and breakfast. Night 
was coming on fast, and they had no bed 
to sleep oUj and their mother was far away 
from them. They laid down on the grass, 
and put their little arms round each others' 
necks, and cried themselves to sleep. 

These little boys were lost. And how 
did they come to be lost ? They wander- 
ed away from their father and mother. If 
they had been good children, they would 
not have gone away without asking leave 
of their parents. 

But I have told you this story to show 
what a condition we are all in by nature. 
Like these children, we have all wandered 
away from our Father in heaven. It was 
fine sport for these little boys to be free 
from their mother's care, and wander about 
after the butterflies ; and so people think it 
is very pleasant to have their own way, 
and not mind God, but seek their own 
pleasure. But after a while, these little 
boys found it was not so pleasant as they 
11^ 



126 THE LOST SAVED. 

had supposed, to be away from their father's 
house, and suffer and be exposed as they 
were. So, if we do not return to our heav- 
enly Father, we shall find that by-and-by 
death will come, when it will be all dark- 
ness and terror ; and like these little boys 
for the night, we shall at last have to " lie 
down in sorrow" for eternity. 

But what became of these poor lost boys? 
They did not know the way back, and 
they could not go home. A good woman 
found them, and took them first to her own 
home ; and when she found who they were, 
she took them back to their mother. Now, 
do you know how we lost sinners, as we all 
are, can be restored to our heavenly Father? 
Jesus, the Son of God, has come down from 
heaven to take us back to his Father's 
house. He is the way; and if, through 
repentance and faith, we trust ourselves to 
him, he will save us. 

3. The little wanderer, 

(See ch. iv, No 3.) 



CHARLES MASON. 127 

4. The lost boy. 

Mr. Mason, who lived in a village on the 
sea-shore, in Maine, had one little son, by 
the name of Charles, about eight years old. 
The people of the place were mostly fisher- 
men ; and some small boats were kept in 
the harbor. Mr. Mason had often told 
Charles never to get into the boats. But 
one day, as he was at play along by the 
side of the water, he saw a little boat care- 
lessly fastened to a stake. Without think- 
ing of what his father had told him, he 
jumped into the boat, and began to paddle 
about with a broken oar he found in the 
bottom. After he had been playing for 
half an hour in this way, close by the land, 
the tide changed, and he found himself 
going farther and farther from the land. 
He laid down in the boat, expecting, when 
the tide changed, that he should be carried 
back again. There were a great many 
little islands scattered along the bay, and 
he hoped he should be thrown upon some 
of them ; but one after another of them 



128 CONSEQUENCES OF 

passed by, and still Charles was on the 
water. At last the boat struck on the last 
island, and Charles jumped on shore. He 
then pulled the boat ashore, as well as he 
could, thinkmg he would run about till the 
tide changed. He strayed some way from 
the boat, and the sun went down, while he 
was trying to find his way back again. 

Charles's parents were very much dis- 
tressed about him ; and all the people of 
the village turned out to hunt for him, but 
he could not be found. His poor mother 
was very sad indeed ; her heart was almost 
broken. However, four days after he was 
lost, a fisherman, who was coming home, 
found the boat in which Charles had gone 
ofi*, and brought it home. When his father 
saw this, he was sure that Charles had 
gone off" in it ; and he hoped he might have 
been cast upon some of the islands. So, 
early the next morning, all the boats that 
could be found were sent out to search for 
him. They visited all the nearest islands, 
and found nothing of him. Then there 
came on a storm, and most of the boats 



DISOBEDIENCE. 129 

had to return. But his father was not 
willing to go back till he had searched 
every place where he supposed he might 
be ; and he went on to the farthest island. 
After searching all over it, as he thought, 
and hallooing and calling for Charles, he 
could find nothing of him ; and returned to 
the boat to go home. But after he got a 
little way off, he looked back, and there 
he saw his little boy, sitting on the top of 
a rock. He had heard his father calling 
him, but he was too weak to answer; for 
he had been five days with nothing to eat 
but a few wild berries, which he had pick- 
ed. When they took him in their arms, he 
fainted. But they carried him home, and 
he soon got well again. But the grief of 
his mother, who thought he was lost, threw 
her into a fever, and she was very sick. 

All this, dear children, was in conse- 
quence of disobedience. If Charles had 
obeyed his father, he would have been at 
home, with enough to eat, and his mother 
by his side, instead of wandering about 
alone on the island, living upon wild ber- 



130 LOST AND FOUND. 

ries ; and he would have slept in his warm 
and quiet bed, instead of lying on the 
ground, in the open air, exposed to the 
storm and rain. He would also have saved 
his mother the most heart-rending grief, 
and his father, and all the people of the 
village, a great deal of trouble. You see 
the consequences of disobeying an earthly 
father. But you have disobeyed your 
heavenly Father, and gone in the way 
which he has forbidden. You are now 
lost; and if not found and saved, you are 
in a worse condition than little Charles 
was ; for your soul will be lost. And think 
what your heavenly Father has done to 
bring you back to him ! Jesus Christ came 
down from heaven, and obeyed the law of 
God for you; he even gave up his own 
life, that you might be forgiven, and be 
recovered to the favor of your heavenly 
Father. Will you then be saved by him? 
He says he will save all that come to God 
by him ; and no one else can save you. 
Suppose Charles had refused to go with his 
father: he would have died there on the 



WAY TO HEAVEN. 131 

island. So, if you refuse to go with Christy 
you will die for ever and ever. 

5. The way to heaven. 

The superintendent of a Sabbath school 
was speaking to the children, and said, '^If 
I were to inquire of you the way to the 
next town, you would, no doubt, be able 
to tell me. But if I should inquire of you 
the way to heaven, what answer would 
you make?" — How would you answer 
this question, dear children? A little girl 
climbed up on the bench, and said, '^ Jesus 
Christ, sir, is the way.'''' The little girl was 
right. Jesus Christ is the only way to 
heaven. The way to heaven is shut 
against us, because of our sins ; but Jesus 
Christ can open it ; and he will open it for 
all who trust in him, and take them to 
heaven. 



132 SECOND COMMANDMENT, 



CHAPTER IX. 

IDOLATRY. SECOND COMMANDMENT. 

1. Worship of Juggernaut, 

(See Ch. v, No. 3.) 

2. The heathen killing their children, 

(See Ch« v, No. 4.) 

3. Infant missionary spirit. 

The children in an infant school in New 
York were very much affected when they 
heard how the Hindoos sacrificed their 
children to their idol gods. Several of 
them wept J and said, '' O, why did they do 
so?" When told that these parents were 
heathen, who had never read the Bible, nor 
heard about Jesus, they said, ^^Is not God 
angry with them?" Another inquired, 
^' Why don't somebody teach them to read 
the Bible ? " Another asked, ^' Why don't 
somebody tell them it is wicked, and tell 



INFANT MISSIONARY. 133 

them about Jesus? If I were there, I 
would tell them." They were told if they 
would save their pemiies, instead of buying 
candy or toys, they might buy a Bible, and 
send it to some Hindoo mother, to teach 
her how to save her little children. They 
agreed to do so ; and in a little while they 
had enough to buy two Bibles. What do 
you think about it, dear children? Can 
you do any thing for the poor heathen ? 

4. An infant missionary. 

A Christian gentleman, whose name was 
Money, lived in India. He had a little 
daughter, not quite three years old, and a 
heathen servant, named Saamy, to take 
care of her. One day Saamy was walking 
out with her, and they came near an old 
heathen temple. The man stopped and 
bowed down to the idol gods. The little 
girl said to him, ^' Saamy, what for you do 
that?" ^^O, missy," said he, ^^that my 
god." ''Your god, Saamy!" replied the 
little girl ; '' why, your god no see — no hear 
— no walk — your god stone. My God see 
12 



134 INFANT MISSIONARY. 

every thing — my God made you, made me^ 
made every thing." Mr. Money hved there 
some time ; and every day that Saamy and 
the little girl went by the temple, Saamy 
would turn aside to worship his stone god, 
that could neither see, hear nor walk ; and 
the little girl would tell him about the 
living and true God. But when Mr. Money 
was going to leave India, the poor heathen 
said to the little girl, ^' What will poor 
Saamy do, when missy go to England? 
Saamy no father, no mother ! " ^' O, Saa- 
my," replied the little girl, ^^ if you love 
God, he will be your father and mother 
too." He promised to do so. '^ Then," 
said she, '^ you must learn my prayers." 
He said he would ; and she taught him the 
Lord's prayer, the creed, and her morning 
and evening hymns. Some time after, he 
learned to read the Bible, and became a 
Christian. Dear children, if you lived 
among the heathen, what would you do? 
And who of you desire, when you grow up 
to be men and women, to leave your father 
and mother, and go and tell the heathen 



HEATHEN WORSHIP. 135 

about the true God, and his Son, Jesus 
Christ? But first you must learn your- 
selves to love Jesus ; for you cannot preach 
a Saviour you do not know. 

5. How the heathen worship. 

The heathen do not know that Jesus has 
died to save us from our sins ; and to pacify 
their gods, who they think are angry with 
them for their sins, they punish themselves. 
One of their gods is called the Destroyer, 
which is one of the names given in the 
Bible to Satan. They think this god is 
pleased with cruelty and blood; and so 
they torture themselves to gain his favor. 
They make great feasts in honor of the god, 
when they worship him with a great many 
foolish ceremonies. Some suffer severe 
tortures, to please him. Sometimes they 
have iron hooks stuck through their backs, 
and ropes tied to them ; and by these they 
are swung round and round very swiftly, 
on a high post. Others jump down from a 
high place on sharp spikes or knives, stuck 
in bags of straw. Others walk barefoot 



136 THE GOOD GOD. 

over heapr of fire; and some run sharp 
sticks or pieces of iron through their 
tongues or sides. 

Dear children, do you think God is 
pleased with such worship ? No ; it is for- 
bidden in the second commandment. And 
so is every other kind of worship which he 
has not commanded. He says we must 
worship him in spirit and in truth ; and all 
our worship must be offered in the name of 
Jesus. If we try to come to him in any 
other way, we break this commandment. 
So, if you refuse or neglect to worship him 
in the way that he requires, you break 
this commandment. 

6. The heathen have no good god, 

A poor heathen lay pining away on his 
sick bed. A Christian, who visited him, 
asked him if he ever prayed to God to 
make him well. ^^ No," he answered, ''we 
have no good god to pray to. Our god 
makes us sick, and kills us, but gives us 
nothing. Yours is a good God, who hears 
you when you pray, and gives you good 



THE HEATHEN GODS. 137 

things. Teach us to know him ; for we 
know nothing that is good." 

Think how miserable the heathen must 
be ; for they have no idea of a good God. 
They are afraid of their gods, because they 
think they will hurt them ; and they wor- 
ship them to persuade them not to do them 
injury. But the great God who made all 
things is a good God. The Bible says, 
'^ Like as a father pitieth his children, so 
the Lord pitieth them that fear him.'' 

7. The heathen gods. 

A child, about eight years old, who had 
been taught to know the Lord, was laughed 
at by some heathen, because he was a 
Christian. He told them what he had 
been taught about God. ''Show us your 
God," said the heathen. ''I cannot do 
that," replied the child; but I can show 
you your own god." So he took up a stone, 
and daubed it so as to make it look a little 
like a man's face, and put it on the ground, 
saying, " There is such a god as you wor- 
ship." 

12# 



138 

8. The infant Qnissionary'' s dying gift. 

There was a little boy, three years old, 
the only son of his mother. She had given 
him to the Lord, and often prayed that he 
might become a missionary, and go and 
tell the heathen about the Saviour. He 
had saved the money given him, till he had 
sixty cents. But he fell into a barrel of 
boiling water, which scalded him so badly 
that he soon died. Just before his death, 
the mother brought his little treasure, at 
his request, and asked what she should do 
with it. He reached out his hand, and, 
with his dying voice, said, ^^Mis-sion-aryJ^ 
It was all he could say ; and then he died. 
He wanted his money given to the mission- 
ary cause, that it might do good to the 
poor heathen. 

9. Self-denial i?i a child. 

A little girl heard her father and mother 
and some visiters talking about the heathen; 
and after listening a long time, she inquired, 
''Father, do the hea:then children wish to 



SELF-DENIAL. 139 

learn to read the Testament ?" Her father 
told her that many of them were anxious, 
and that all of them would be, if they knew 
what it is worth. ^^ But, father," said she, 
^^ have they all got Testaments, if they did 
know how to read?" '^ No, my dear," he 
replied, ^'fevv of them ever heard of the 
Testament, or of God, or of Christ." ^' Will 
half a dollar buy a Testament for a little 
heathen girl?" she again inquired. Her 
father said it Avould. ^'O," said she, ^'how 
I wish I had half a dollar ! Father, may I 
sell any thing I've got, if I can get half a 
dollar ? " ^' Yes," said her father. 

Harriet, — for this was the little girl's 
name, — Harriet had a beautiful tame 
squirrel, named Jenny, which she loved 
very much. It would eat from her hand, 
run about after her, when she walked, and 
sleep on her pillow. But her pretty little 
Jenny was suddenly taken sick. Harriet 
nursed it with great care, and shed many 
tears over it, when it died on its pillow, in 
her lap. Her father tried to cornfort her, 
by telling her that was the end of the little 



140 HEATHEN BOY. 

squirrel, but when she died, her soul would 
live for ever. '^Father," said she, ^^didl 
not love my squirrel?" ''Yes," he re- 
plied. '' Did you not say I might sell any 
thing I had for half a dollar, and send a 
Testament to the heathen children?" 
''Yes." "Well, I was going to sell my 
pretty squirrel and get a half a dollar for 
it, and I was going to send a Testament 
to the heathen ; but now my Jenny is dead." 
And she was so sad that she could say no 
more. Her father gave her a silver dollar, 
and she dried up her tears; for now she 
thought, though her Jenny was dead, she 
could send two Testaments to the heathen. 

10. The little heathen beggar boy. 

One day, a little blind boy, about eight 
years old, led by his sister, came to the 
tent of Mr. Hunger, the missionary, and 
began to sing and dance, so that the mis- 
sionaries might see him and give him some 
money. After some time, they called him 
in, and his sister, about twelve years old, 
began to tell a very pitiful story. She said 



THE HEATHEN BOY. 141 

their father had been dead three years, and 
they were obKged to beg; and the tears 
rolled down her cheeks. But Mr. Hunger 
did not think it certain that she was telling 
the truth because she shed tears ; for the 
heathen will tell lies, and then cry to make 
people think they are telling the truth. So 
he told them how wicked it was to tell 
lies ; and that they ought not to beg, when 
they might work and earn enough to sup- 
port them. Then the little boy said, if 
they would give him something; he would 
give it to his god. The missionaries 
saw that he had a string of Avooden beads 
about his neck, which showed that he was 
a religious beggar — one who begs for the 
heathen gods. Then they asked him what 
was the name of his god. '^ Vetoba," said 
the boy. '^ Who is Vetoba?" inquired the 
missionaries. '^ He is a saint,'' said the 
boy. ^' Well ; go and call him ; we would 
like to see him." The boy looked down 
and did not know what to say to this. 
^' Has your god hands and feet ? " inquired 
Mr. Hunger. ^^Yes," said the boy, ''he 



142 HEATHEN BOY's GOD. 

has hands and feet." ^^ Then can he not 
walk ? If you call him can he not come 
here?" ''No — his feet are made of gold 
and silver, and he cannot walk." '' What 
does Vetoba do?" ''We make offerings 
to him and worship him," said the boy; 
for he did not seem to know that it be- 
longed to his god to do any thing. " Yes," 
said Mr. Hunger, "that is what the peo- 
ple do to him; but what does he do for 
those who worship him?"" The boy did 
not know what to say. "Is the god in 
your temple made of silver?" "No- he 
is stone." "Who made that stone into a 
god?" "The people." Then Mr. Hun- 
ger told him how foolish it was to worship 
stones, that could do him no good or harm ; 
and how he ought to worship the great 
God who made all things, and who gave 
him his food and clothing, health and 
strength, and every blessing. Hr. Hunger 
then offered to give him a dollar for his 
wooden necklace. But the boy was not 
willing; he thought his god would be 
offended, and he was afraid. Hr Hunger 



MALBORNE BRIGGS. 143 

told him he need not be afraid of his stone 
god that could neither hear, see, nor walk ; 
then he pulled off his beads, and sold them 
for a dollar. 

Do you not pity these poor ignorant 
heathen children ? If they had the Bible, 
as you have, they would not worship these 
stones. This boy was much more religious 
in his way, than many of the dear children 
who go to Sabbath school: for he gave 
himself up to begging for his god. I should 
hope if he knew about Jesus, he would 
give him his heart. 

11. Visiting the iniquities of the fathers 
upon the children. 

An old man died a little while ago in 
the Massachusetts state prison, whose 
name was Malborne Briggs. He was sev- 
enty-six years old; and had spent eight 
years in prison for his crimes. He had ten 
children, eight sons and two daughters. 
Seven of these sons have been in prison — 
the mother, also, and one of the daughters. 

This shows how God visits the iniquities 



144 JOHN ROGERS. 

of the fathers upon the children of them 
that hate him. But remember, it is only 
upon them that hate him. If the children 
turn from their evil ways, and love Cod, 
he will not visit on them the sins of their 
father. But, if they go on in sin, and ap- 
prove of their father's sins, they will be 
punished for their father's sins as well as 
their own. 

12. Children blessed for their parents^ sake. 

Rev. John Rogers, was burned at the 
stake, because he Avould not give up Jesus 
Christ, and worship the idols of the church 
of Rome. All the oldest sons of the family 
for ten generations have been pious, and all 
but one of them ministers of the gospel. 
You know what I mean by generations. 
I mean that the oldest son of John Rogers 
was pious, and a minister of the gospel ; 
and his eldest son again was the same: 
and then the eldest son of this eldest son^ 
was pious and a minister of the gospel, and 
so on, ten times. But besides these oldest 
sops, there are a great many more of the 



AND HIS CHILDREN. 145 

Rogers family^ who are pious good men. 
And who gave them new hearts, and made 
them ministers of the gospel ? It was God, 
who shows mercy unto thousands of gen- 
erations of them that love him, and keep 
his commandments. 

Rev. Peter Thatcher was a minister in 
Attleborough, Mass., forty-one years. He 
died more than fifty years ago, and was 
the fourteenth eldest son, who was a 
minister of the gospel ; and of his children, 
to the fourth generation, there have been 
one hundred and forty-two ; and one hun- 
dred of them have been pious ; four became 
ministers ; and four more are preparing to 
be ministers. See how the Lord remem- 
bers what he has said in the second com- 
mandment ! 



13 



146 ANGRY WITH A WAGON. 



CHAPTER X. 

PROFANENESS, &c. — THIRD AND SEVENTH 
COMMANDMENTS. 

1. The little boy that was angry with his 
wagon. 

A little boy, four years old, had a little 
"wagon, with which he was very fond of 
playing in pleasant weather. One day he 
came in crying very hard. '^ What is the 
matter?'' said his mother. ^^I am afraid 
I shall die," said he, ^^ iox I have said a 
wicked wordjP He had loaded his wagon 
so heavily that he could not draw it ; that 
made him angry, and then he said a wick- 
ed word. How dangerous it is to get an- 
gry: when people are angry, they forget 
the commandments of God. But little 
James felt so much distressed, because he 
had broken God's holy commandment, 
that he was unwihing, for a long time, to 



FOOLISH ANGER. 147 

play with his wagon, for fear he should 
get angry again, and say wicked words. 
He was very foolish to be angry with his 
wagon ; for it had no soul, and it was not 
to blame. It is very foolish for children to 
be vexed and angry, when their plays do 
not please them. But little James did 
right to be sorry that he had been angry, 
and to avoid the play that led him into sin. 
This was repentance. But what do you 
think of his telling his mother? Would 
you tell your mother, if you should get an- 
gry and say a wicked word ? He did right 
to tell his mother what he had done. Some 
children would have kept it to themselves, 
and not told their mother ; but when chil- 
dren do so they are much more likely to do 
he same wicked thing again. Always tell 
your parents, when you have been led into 
temptation and overcome by it ; and they 
will help you to keep out of temptation 
again. 



148 BAD COMPANY. 

2. We wont stay with you. 

As a gentleman was walking through a 
city, he saw the streets filled with boys at 
play with their hoops, balls and kites. 
He stopped to look at them ; for he loved 
to see them enjoying themselves, and it 
made him think of the time when he was 
a boy. Presently he saw the boys running 
together in one place, where they seemed to 
be talking very earnestly about something. 
In a few moments, two boys ran out from 
among the rest, saying, '-We won't stay 
any longer with you." ^^ Why not?'' said 
the other. ^'Because you talk so. You 
swear; and our Sabbath school teacher 
told us that it was wicked to swear." 
^^Well," said the other boys, laughing, 
^^our teachers never told us so, for we 
haven't got any teachers." The two boys 
ran away, saying, ^^ we shan't stay with 
you." Then the other boys promised to 
stop swearing, if they would come back. 
"No;" said they; "we shan't stay with 
you, for our teachers told us not to keep 



A NOBLE YOUTH. 149 

bad company, "^^ Did these boys do right 
in running away from the bad boys, who 
said wicked words 7 Can you think of any 
thing in the Bible that tells you to do as 
they did? 

4. ^^ If I thought there would be sv) earing 
aboard^ I would not go,^^ 

A great many years ago, a ship named 
Difff sailed from London, to carry out some 
missionaries to the heathen. When the 
ship was preparing to sail, Mr. Cox, one 
of the directors of the missionary society, 
met a fine looking boy, who stopped him 
and very modestly asked him if he had 
not something to do with the ship that was 
going out with the missionaries. ^^ Yes, I 
have, my young man," said Mr. Cox. 
*'I should like very much, sir, to go out 
with her as a cabin boy." ^' Would you ? " 
said Mr. Cox. ''Have you any parents?" 
'' I have a mother," said the boy, '' but no 
father." " And is your mother willing 
you should go?" ''O yes, sir, very wil- 
ling." Mr. Cox then asked the boy to 
13=^ 



150 THIRD COMMANDMENT. 

call at his house and bring his mother along 
with him. The boy and the mother came, 
and it was agreed that he should go. A 
gentleman thought he would try the boy ; 
so he said to him, '^ So you wish to go to 
sea?" '^Yes, sir," said the boy, '4n the 
missionary ship." '^ And, said the gentle- 
man, ^' You can swear a good round hand, 
I suppose." The boy was shocked at 
such an idea, and bursting into tears, 
said, ^^ If I thought there vmuld be swear- 
ing aboard at all^ I would not goJ^ Dear 
children, remember this; and never go any 
where you have reason to think there will 
be swearing. Can you think of any pas- 
sage of Scripture that taught this boy not to 
go where there was swearing? Whom 
do you suppose he^ feared ? 

4. ^' The Lord loill not hold him guiltless 
that taketh his name in vain.^^ 

A very bad boy, who loved to be idle 
and lie and swear and break the Sabbath, 
went into the woods one Sabbath with 
some other boys, to gather chestnuts, in- 



PROFANENESS PUNISHED. 151 

stead of going to meeting. While there, 
he climbed up into a chestnut tree, and 
called to the boys on the ground and told 
them he had found a squirrel's nest. But 
the boys would not believe what he said; 
for you know that nobody will believe 
what a liar says. Not satisfied he added 
an oath, thinking by that to make them 
believe him. ''If there is not a squirrel's 
nest here," said he, '' I hope the Almighty 
will strike me dead." The very moment 
these words were out of his mouth, he fell 
from the tree, and broke one of his limbs, 
and bruised his body so that he was in 
great distress. The next Friday the min- 
ister visited him, and he was crazy, and 
raved and swore, as he used to do when 
he was well. In this way he went into 
eternity; for he died that day. O, how 
do you suppose he felt, when he ^ came to 
meet God, whose holy name he had pro- 
faned? — What other commandment did 
this boy break, besides the third? What 
part of the third commandment was ful- 
filled, when he fell and killed himself, 



152 PURE IN HEART. 

while taking God's name in vain? Some 
children, when they are telling any thing 
which they wish to make their companions 
believe-j say, '^ I hope to die, if it is not so." 
Would you dare say that? When they 
make such a speech as that, they pray to 
God to take their lives, if what they say is 
not true. This is awfully profane and 
wicked; and you see that God answered 
this wicked boy's prayer, and struck him 
dead. 

5. The pure in heart. 

Two little children, the oldest not five 
years old, were playing together. The 
younger one used an improper word. 
^^ You must not say that," said the other; 
^^if you do, you will never see God." 
^^Yes, I shall," replied the younger one. 
^'But you cannot," said the other very 
seriously; ''for my teacher says none but 
the pure in heart shall see God ; and if you 
speak such words, you are not pure in 
heart." And that is right; for Jesus says, 
^^Out of the abundance of the heart the 
mouth speaketh;" and if you speak filthy 
words, it shows that your heart is not pure. 



FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 153 



CHAPTER XL 

THE SABBATH FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

1. Sailing on the Sabbath. 

A young man in New York, named 
Alexander Mackey, the son of a widow, 
was in the habit of saiUng for pleasure on 
the Sabbath, contrary to the wishes of his 
mother. One Sabbath morning she urged 
and entreated him most affectionately not 
to sail any more on the Sabbath. -'Alex- 
ander," said she, '^ if you go this day, I 
shall never see you again." But he de- 
spised his mother's advice, and went. 
When the boat was in the middle of the 
river, a sudden gust of wind, upset the 
boat, and Alexander was drowned. You 
see, dear children, how dangerous it is to 
go on the water Sabbath day; and also, 
how God punishes them that despise what 
their parents say to them. The Bible says, 



154 SABBATH BREAKERS 

'^ The eye that despiseth to obey his moth- 
er, the ravens of the valley shall pick it 
out, and the young eagles shall eat it." 
Alexander despised the advice of his moth- 
er, and was determined to have his own 
way, although his mother had taught him 
how wicked it was to break the Sabbath : 
and you see what was his end. Such 
things often happen. A whole family, fa- 
ther, mother, and children, went into a boat 
to sail on the river Sabbath day, and they 
were all drowned. A young man, who 
had been brought up to go to meeting on 
the Sabbath, and had been taught the Holy 
Scriptures, was invited to go out with a 
sailing party on the Thames, in London. 
His conscience told him it was wrong; but 
he loved pleasure, and was fond of compa- 
ny. So he agreed to go. The day came; 
and it was a beautiful day. The sun 
shone brightly on the water, and made it 
look like a great sheet of silver. It was 
just such a day as people choose for pleas- 
ure, and the young people thought they 
should have a fine time of it. But just as 



I 



DROWNED. 155 

this young man was stepping into the boat, 
he thought of what his mother had taught 
him from the word of God, ^'Remember 
the Sabbath day to keep it holy ;" and then 
his conscience said, '^ How can I do this 
great wickedness and sin against God?" 
He resisted temptation, and went back. 
The young people, his companions, laughed 
at him; but he could not go with them. 
Perhaps some one will say, he was foolish 
to deny himself so much pleasure and not 
go when he had set out to go. But think 
again. The party sailed, and had fine 
sport for a while. They drank spirits and 
were merry; and some of them were 
nearly intoxicated. But when they were . 
returning, they ran upon a boat loaded 
with coal, and were upset, and seven of 
them were drowned. What do you think 
now? Was the young man foolish who 
refused to go ? He did very wrong, indeed, 
when he agreed to go, and when he went 
down to the boat. But, if he had gone on 
and done what they were laughing at him 
for not doing, he would have done much 



156 BATHING AND SKATING. 

worse, and probably have been drowned. 
Learn from this, never to let the sneers of 
your companions prevent you from doing 
right. 

2. Bathing on the Sabbath, 

A little boy nine years old went to a 
river to bathe, as boys often do on the 
Sabbath, and was drowned. This is 
something that often happens. I believe 
there are more boys drowned while bathing 
on the Sabbath, than there are in any oth- 
er way. Take warning, and never go near 
the water for amusement, on the Sabbath. 

3. Skating on the Sabbath, 

Sidney's father and mother were good 
people, and they taught him the word of 
God; but he did not like it; and he 
thought his parents were very hard to be 
so strict with him. His parents felt very 
sorry that Sidney was a bad boy, and wept 
3.nd prayed for him a great deal. But he 
did not care for that. He did not honor 
them. When they talked to him, he would 
answer back and treat them rudely. He 



A BAD BOY. 157 

was also unkind to his schoolmates; and 
every body said he was a bad boy. He used 
to go to the Sabbath school, because his 
father and mother said he must ; but he did 
not love to go ; and while there, he behaved 
very badly, so that he was a trial to his 
teacher, and a trouble and vexation to his 
classmates. When his teacher was talking 
to his class about God and heavenly things, 
he would be whispering and laughing, or 
else thinking about his play. 

As Sidney grew older, he became more 
and more unkind and disobedient to his 
parents ; and he soon began to stay away 
from Sabbath school. He would pretend 
to go, and then play in the streets, or stroll 
away with wicked boys into the woods. 
After a while his teacher called to see why 
he had not been at school; and then his 
parents learned with grief that he had been 
playing truant. They talked to him, and 
tried to show him how wicked his conduct 
was ; but he would not acknowledge that he 
had done wrong. Yet, to escape punishment, 
he promised, very sullenly, that he woul4 
14 



158 TRUANT BOY DROWNED. 

go to Sabbath school in future. The next 
Sabbath, as he was going to school, he met 
some of his wicked companions, with their 
skates strung about their necks, going to 
skate. They laughed at Sidney for going 
to Sabbath school, and invited him to go 
with them. I suppose he thought of what 
his parents had said, and of his promise to 
go to school ; but he loved his play better 
than the Sabbath school, and he was 
ashamed to let the boys know what he 
had promised. So he stole home and got 
his skates, without his parents knowing it; 
and in a little while, he was skipping across 
the pond in great glee. But, after a while, 
he fell through the ice and was drowned. 
And how do you suppose his parents felt, 
when they learned that their son, who they 
supposed was at the Sabbath school, had 
been drowned while at play on the ice 7 O, 
who can tell how bad they felt ! And 
what do you suppose became of his soul? 
Dear children^ I wish you to learn two 
things from this story :— 1. Never disobey 
your parents, especially when they tell you 
to ^^ remember the Sabbath day to keep it 



SLIDING AND SHOOTING. 159 

holy." — 2. Never play truant from the 
Sabbath school. If you do, most likely 
you will come to some bad end. 

4. Sliding on the ice. 

Two sons of a widow went one Sabbath 
morning to slide on the ice. Their mother, 
before they went, told them to go to meet- 
ing with her. But they despised the in- 
structions of their mother, and would have 
their own way. After they got on the ice, 
a man who was passing by told them that 
the water was deep, and they were in dan- 
ger of being drowned. But they thought 
they knew best, and kept on sliding ; but 
very soon the ice broke, and they fell in 
and were drowned. 

5. Shooting on the Sabbath, 

A young man had been out with his gun, 
shooting birds, on the Sabbath, several 
times, without his father's knowledge. 
When his father heard of it, he told him 
very solemnly never to do so again. But 
the young man thought his father was too 



160 HUNTING. 

strict; and as soon as he was gone to 
church J he borrowed a gun and went out 
as he had done before. While he was 
watching the birds, the gun went off 
and killed him on the spot. When his 
father came home, and found his son was 
gone, he went out, with some of the neigh- 
bors, to search for him. They found his 
body in a shocking condition. And how 
do you suppose his father and mother felt ? 
They knew their son had gone into eternity 
while disobeying his father, and breaking 
the holy Sabbath; and how would he 
meet God I 

6. Hunting on the Sabbath, 

You have heard, I suppose, of the Ply- 
mouth Rock. It is the place where our 
fathers landed, when they came over the 
waters. There they hallowed the Sabbath 
day, and set up the worship of the living 
and true God. A little boy near that place, 
forgetting his fathers' God, went out in the 
woods, on God's holy day, to look at the 
traps which he had set to catch game. 



RIDING. 161 

While there, he cUmbed on a tree and 
made himself a swing. While swinging 
he fell and put his shoulder out of joint. 
He had to have a doctor to put the bone in 
its place. This caused him a great deal of 
pain. He was confined a long time with 
his lame shoulder. His father had to pay 
money to the doctor; and the folly and wick- 
edness of their son caused his parents much 
grief. 

7. Stealing apples on the Sabbath. 

(See ch. vii, No. 6, p. 120.) 

8. Gathering nuts on the Sabbath, 

(See ch. x, No. 4, p. 150.) 

9. Riding on the Sabbath. 

On a pleasant Sabbath afternoon, little 
William got tired of staying in the house, 
and wanted to go abroad. But his moth- 
er did not want him to go, unless he would 
go to meeting. ^^ I've been to church, once 
to-day," said he, ^'and that is enough. I'll 
ride the little poney out, and come back 
soon." His mother ought to have made 
14=^ 



162 LITTLE WILLIAM. 

him do as she wished ; but she was one of 
those mothers who leave their children to 
themselves ; and you know Solomon says, 
^^ A child left to himself bringeth his moth- 
er to shame." She tried to persuade him 
to do right, but she did not command him 
to do it, and punish him when he did not 
mind. Some children think it very hard 
that their parents will not let them do as 
they please; but I think every little boy 
who hears or reads this story, will thank 
his father and mother for not leaving him 
to himself to do as he pleases. 

When William had gone as far as he 
wished, he got down from his little poney, 
and played about till sun-down. When 
he had got through, he led the poney close 
to the side of the fence, climbed up to the 
top, and then gave a spring, to jump on 
poney's back. But alas! he jumped too 
far, and fell on the other side. He got up 
again, and went to the horse, to catch hold 
of the bridle. But he could not do it. 
His arm was broken. It hung down by 
his side, and he could not lift it up. He 



SAD ACCIDENT. 163 

tried to get on his horse, but was unable. 
Poor William was now in a sad plight. 
He was all alone; and it would soon be 
dark. What should he do ? He felt very- 
bad. He sat down in the road and cried. 
He looked this way and that way, but 
could see no one coming. After a while, 
two black men came along ; and he asked 
them to take him home; but they would 
not. And how do you suppose his poor 
mother felt ? William had disobeyed her, 
and gone off, breaking the holy Sabbath. 
When it was time for him to come, she 
looked out at the window, but no William 
was yet in sight. She sat by the window, 
and watched the road where she expected 
to see him coming. Every time she saw a 
horse far off in the road, she thought it 
was William, and would say, ^^ that's Wil- 
liam, at last." Yet one after another came, 
and passed by, but little William came not. 
It began to grow dark; and she thought 
some accident had happened. It was quite 
dark; and she began to cry, and say, ^^O, 
my poor William ! I am afraid he has fallen 



164 A KIND-HEARTED MAN. 

from the horse and got killed. O, why 
did I not make him stay at home ! '^ Such 
are the bitter sorrows that disobedient 
children bring on their over-indulgent and 
irresolute parents. 

But, at length, after William had been 
in the state I described a while, a kind- 
hearted gentleman rode up. and offered to 
put him on his horse. Upon trial, however, 
he could not ride. The gentleman then 
got off from his horse, and made a noise, 
hoping that some one would come to him 
from a house not far off. But no one came. 
He then went to a place where there was 
a meeting, where some one lent him a 
wagon, into which he put a bed that he 
borrowed and laid William on it. But it 
was now dark and cold. The little boy 
looked almost like a dead person. His 
eyes were closed, his face was very pale, 
and his mouth half open. His mother had 
learned that her son was hurt, and had set 
off to bring him home. When she met 
him, she was so weak that she could hardly 
stand. They placed her by the side of her 



THE BROKEN AKM. 165 

son, in the wagon, and brought them both 
home together. Wilham's arm was broken 
in two places ; but the doctor spoke kindly 
to him, and it was soon set and dressed. 
However, poor WiUiam could not rest. 
His arm began to pain him very badly. It 
grew worse and worse every moment. His 
mother said, '^ William, if you had gone to 
church, this would not have happened." 
Then he would cry out with pain, beat his 
forehead with his fist, and tear his hair. 
When any one came into the room, he 
would say, ''O, I'm in so much pain; 
can't you cure me? can't you do some- 
thing for me? O what shall I do?" 

Now, dear children, can you tell me how 
many commandments William broke ? Do 
you think you will ever desire to go riding 
on the Sabbath? Will you ever try to 
have your own way, contrary to the wish- 
es of your parents ? 

10. Playing on the Sabbath. 

Two little boys went out to play on the 
Sabbath. Perhaps they did not call it play ; 



166 SABBATH PLAY 

but they were seeking their pleasure on 
God's holy day. Whatever they might 
call itj they were climbing on some piles of 
boardSj and the boards fell upon them and 
held them down so that they were unable 
to get up. They were very much fright- 
ened and hurt, and cried out as loud as 
they could. Some men heard them, and 
ran to help them. When they took off the 
boards, one of them was found badly bruised 
and very bloody, and the other had one of 
his legs broken. They were in great pain. 
The men took them in their arms, and car- 
ried them home to their parents. The doc- 
tors came and dressed their wounds, and 
set the broken leg, put on splints and ban- 
dages, and said the boy must lie very still 
on his back, for many weeks, till the bones 
grew together again. 

If these boys had been at the Sabbath 
school, or at church, or sitting quietly at 
home, reading some good books, would 
they have got hurt in this dreadful manner? 
Perhaps some boy who reads this will say, 
^' When I go out to play on the Sabbath, I 



GOD DIRECTS ALL THINGS. 167 

wont climb on the boards." But remem- 
ber that there are a thousand ways in 
which the Lord can take your Ufe^ or bring 
evil upon you ; and if you provoke him by 
breaking his holy Sabbath, you cannot 
keep out of his way, for he is every where. 
Some children who read or hear the 
foregoing narratives, may say to them- 
selves, '^ Perhaps these accidents would 
have happened on any other day as well as 
on the Sabbath ; and some who go skating 
and bathing and hunting and riding and 
playing, come home safe." That may be 
true. But you must remember that God 
directs all things. Not even a little spar- 
row falls to the ground without his notice. 
Nothing is strictly speaking an accident; 
and all these things were directed of the 
Lord ; and it is so often that such things 
happen to those that are breaking the Sab- 
bath, that we cannot but think he intends 
to punish them. ' But, if some do escape pun- 
ishment in this life, they will not escape it 
in the life that is to come. 



168 WICKED CHILDREN. 

11. The Sabbath breaker^ s end. 

There was a family of three children, 
whose parents never taught them any thing 
that was good. They never taught their 
children to go to church or Sabbath school ; 
but allowed them to spend the Sabbath in 
strolling about the fields, seeking their own 
pleasure and doing mischief. These chil- 
dren were naturally no worse than others; 
but they were left to themselves, to go on 
in their own way. Or rather, their parents 
taught them to do evil. From Sabbath- 
breaking, they went on to other crimes. 
They grew worse and worse. Stealing 
was their common employment; and this 
was taught them by their parents. One 
night, they stole a poor woman's chickens, 
which were no small part of her living. 
But their hearts were so hard, they did not 
care for the sufferings of others. For this, 
they were taken up and punished. The 
magistrate, who was their cousin, talked 
very seriously to them, telling them what 
disgrace and ruin they were bringing on 



THOMAS. 169 

themselves; but they were so hardened 
that they laughed him in the face. They 
went on from one sin to another, growing 
worse and worse; till at last, the eldest 
two of the sons were hung on the same 
day upon the same gallows. These boys 
began their career of sin by playing on the 
Sabbathj and ended it on the gallows. 

12. The boy that repented of Sabbath-break- 
ing. 

Thomas had been taught by his father 
and mother that it was wrong to play on 
the Sabbath, either in the house or out of 
doors. His horses, whip, and other play- 
things were all put away Saturday night, 
and Thomas did not see them again till 
Monday morning. He had been told that 
it was not right to go into the fields, or into 
the garden Sabbath day, to shake off the 
fruit. 

Once, when Thomas's aunt came to see 

his mother, she brought her little son James 

with her. He was a little older than 

Thomas, and ought to have set him a good 

15 



170 THOMAS. 

example, by being a good bo)^. But one 
Sabbath morning, as Thomas was sitting 
in the garden, reading a Sabbath school 
book, he heard some one calling, ^^ Thom- 
as ! Thomas ! '' Thomas laid down his 
bookj and as he went down the garden 
walk, he came in sight of a large cherry- 
tree, and there stood James, with a long 
pole, trying to loosen the ripe cherries, to 
make them fall. Some cherries had fallen, 
which were quite green, and a few ripe 
ones were on the ground, under the tree. 
^'Come and help me," cried James. 
^^Here is such a fine bunch; and if you 
will but help me, Thomas, I am sure I can 
get them down." ^' I cannot/' said Thom- 
as, and stood still. ''Why will you not 
help me?" said James. '' My father does 
not let us take fruit from the garden with- 
out his leave ; and then it is Sabbath day, 
and it is not right to do so." But James 
laughed at him., and called him again to 
come. Then Thomas ran across the beds 
to James, and began to shake the tree, and 
to eat some of the cherries that had fallen 
down. 



TEMPTING. 171 

NoWj dear children, what was James 
doing, when he called on Thomas to help 
him? He was tempting him to sin against 
God and against his parents. Whom was 
he like? He was like the serpent that 
tempted Eve. And what ought Thomas 
to have said to him ? He ought to have 
said to himself, ''If sinners entice thee, 
consent thou not." He did well, when he 
said, ''I cannot do it;" but he did ill, 
when he consented to stop and parley with 
James, and talk about doing what he knew 
was wrong. You see, by this means, he 
was led into temptation. 

After Thomas had eaten a few of the cher- 
ries under the tree, he went into the house ; 
but he did not feel happy. He felt sad when 
he went to bed that night ; and when he 
got up in the morning, he felt very sad still. 
After dinner, Thomas's mother called him, 
and gave him a handful of ripe cherries, 
and told him she was glad he had said his 
lessons so well to-day ; and that his father 
had brought him some nice cherries from 
the tree in the garden. 



172 REPENTING. 

Thomas took the cherries, and went up 
stairs into his mother's room, and laid them 
down on a little table, and burst into tears. 
And he said to himself, '^ How sorry I am 
that I did not stay in the arbor yesterday, 
and read my little book. Then I should 
not have been so wicked, and I should 
have felt happy." Many more unpleasant 
thoughts came into this little boy's mind, 
and he felt as if his heart would break. 
At last he knelt down by the side of the 
bed, and confessed to his heavenly Father 
that he had been a very wicked boy ; that 
he had broken the holy Sabbath, and 
disobeyed his parents ; and he prayed that 
God would forgive him for the sake of 
Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, and 
that he would send his Holy Spirit to 
make his heart clean. 

When his mother came into the room, 
and saw Thomas and the cherries, she 
asked him what was the matter. He 
then told her all his fault. He did not 
try to hide any thing. He said he could 
not bear to eat the cherries which she had 



GOD SEES US. 173 

given him, because his father and mother 
had thought him good, when all the time 
he was so very naughty. 

Thomas's mother was not angry with 
him. She was glad he had told her his 
fault ; and she hoped this would be a lesson 
to him, and that he would never commit 
such a sin again. She said children should 
never do any thing at any time, which they 
would not do, if their father or mother 
could see them. If they do what they are 
ashamed to have their parents know, they 
ought to remember that God sees them; 
and God is greater than their parents. But 
though Thomas did very wrong to break 
the Sabbath and disobey his parents, yet 
he did right in confessing and turning from 
his sin, and being sorry for it. Can you 
tell me what this last act of his is called? 
It is called repentance. Should you ever 
be led into temptation, either by bad boys 
or your own evil heart, and break the Sab- 
bath, if you do as Thomas did, you will 
find forgiveness. 

15# 



174 A DELIGHT. 

13. The Sabbath a delight. 

The Bible says we must ^*call the Sab- 
bath a deUght, the holy of the Lord, hon- 
orable." Little Phebe Bartlett, who loved 
God when she was only four years old, did 
so. She loved the Sabbath, and would 
not play, nor talk in sport, nor laugh, nor 
think foolish things, as many children do, on 
that holy day. During the week, she would 
inquire how long it was to the Sabbath day ; 
and would not be contented, till the days 
that were between had been counted over. 
She loved God's house, and was always 
glad when she could go there. One day, 
her mother asked her why she was so fond 
of going to church, and whether it was 
not to see the people. ^^No," said she; '4t 
is to hear the minister preach." 

14. How to prepare for the Sabbath. 

Little Otis Chamberlain, who lived in 
Danvers, Mass., loved the Sabbath day. 
Although very fond of his books and school, 
the Sabbath was his delight. He was 



PREPARATION. 17S 

afraid to do any thing improper on the 
Sabbath day. He was a good boy, and 
received a great many presents from his 
friends. One Saturday evening he had all 
his presents and play-things around him, 
and was greatly pleased with them. But 
recollecting that the next day was the Sab- 
bath, he said to the person who was taking 
care of him, ^^ Please gather these things 
together, and lay them away. I do not 
wish to see them any more now. To- 
morrow is the Sabbath, and I wish them 
put away." They were taken out of his 
sight, and he never mentioned them till 
Monday morning, when he wanted them 
again. 

Two boys, one six and the other four 
years old, saw the boys playing ball, and 
they wanted some balls to play with. 
Their kind friends made them some ; and 
they used them through the week, but 
when Sabbath morning came, they carried 
their balls to their mother, to put up till 
Monday morning. After that, they always 
put them away Saturday night. 



176 A boy's reason. 

This is the way to prepare for the Sab- 
bath. Put away all your play-things and 
all your work Saturday night, and think 
no more of them till Monday morning. If 
you love the Sabbath, as little Phebe and 
little Otis did, you will never want to see 
your play-things on the Sabbath. You 
will love that blessed day above all the 
seven, because it is the time to worship 
God. You will think about it, and long to 
have it come; and Saturday night you 
will turn your thoughts from your play to 
serious things, and try to wake up in the 
morning, thinking about Jesus, who rose 
on this day so early from the dead. 

15. A little boy^s reason for keeping the 
Sabbath. 

A little boy, who went to the Sabbath 
school, came home one morning, after he 
had heard something said about the Sa- 
viour and the Holy Spirit, and about loving 
God, and said, ^'Ma, I am not going to 
play any more on the Sabbath, for I love 
God,^^ A very good reason, indeed; for 



EARLY PIETY. 177 

every one that loves God will love to keep 
his eommandments ; and especially they 
will love to keep the Sabbath day ; for that 
is the time that God invites his people to 
come to his house, and meet him there. 



CHAPTER XII. 

EARLY PIETY. 

1. The best time to hecome a Christian, 

Charles was asked, ^' When is the best 
time to become a Christian 7 '' ^^ When we 
are young^'^^ he replied. ^^Why do you 
think that is the best time?" ^^ Because 
it will be easier," said he. ^^ We shall 
have less sins to repent of, — our hearts will 
be less hardened. — and we may be sick, if 
we put it off." ^^But," said the person 
who was talking with him, ''don't you 
think it will be a good time to become 
religious when you are sick ? Then there 



178 WHEN TO REPENT. 

will be nothing else to do." '^ But," said 
Charles, '' reason may be taken away." A 
little while before this, his brother had been 
taken sick, and was deranged. Another 
reason ; you ought to seek religion Avhile 
young, because God commands it. He 
says, ^^ My son, give me thy heart; " and, 
^'Remember now thy Creator in the days 
of thy youth." You ought to give God 
your heart, and remember him when you 
are young. 

2. It is hard to repent in old age. 

An old man, who had lived seventy 
years without giving God his heart, became 
greatly distressed about his sins ; and well 
he might become so; for he had been sinning 
against God all the time. His sins troubled 
him so that he could not sleep; and he 
would get up in the night, and walk the 
floor, wringing his hands in the greatest 
agony. The minister Avas sent for; and 
the aged man said, '^I am afraid I have 
outstaid my day of grace. I find promises 
enough for the young : — ^ Those that seek 



SHORT GRAVES. 179 

me early shall find me;' — but I find no 
such promises for the aged." At one time 
he was comforted a little, but he soon be- 
came distressed again; and in this wretched 
condition he died. O, dear children, now 
is the time to repent and come to Christ. 
You see what came upon this poor old 
man, because he put off seeking God till 
old age. 

3. Measuring the graves, 

A little boy had a mother who did not 
love God, nor care for her own soul ; and 
she tried to persuade her son that it would 
be time enough to serve God when he 
grew older. But he did not think so ; for 
God had taught him, by his Holy Spirit, 
that his soul was worth more than the 
whole world ; and he thought to himself 
that possibly he might not live to be a 
man ; and if he was not too young to die, 
he was not too young to be religious. So 
he went one day to the grave-yard, and 
laid himself down on some of the graves, 
to see whether any of them were as short 



180 INFANT SCHOLAR. 

as himself. Then he went home to his 
mother, and said, ^^Now, mother, I know 
I am not too young to be good, for 1 have 
found many graves in the grave-yard 
shorter than I am. So I hope you will let 
me seek the Lord now; for the Bible says, 
^ Now is the accepted time, now is the day 
of salvation.' " Now, what do you think 
about it ? Which was right, this little boy 
or his mother % 

4. The infant scholar who had a neio heart, 

John Allen lived in the city of New 
York. He was not quite four years old 
when he died. But do not think, dear 
children, because I tell you of good children 
who die, that children die any sooner for 
being good. There are a great many more 
bad children than good who die; and 1 
have told you of many bad children, whom 
the Lord cut off suddenly, while they 
were breaking his holy Sabbath, or doing 
other wicked things. There are also many 
good children, who grow up to be men and 
women. Little Phebe Bartlett was only 



JOHN ALLEN. 181 

four years old when she became a Christian, 
and she Uved till she was almost seventy- 
four years old. 

Little John Allen was such a good boy 
at infant school that his teachers and all 
the scholars loved him. He loved the 
school so much that he would count the 
days as they passed, to see when the Sab- 
bath would come ; and when he could not 
go he would be very sorry. When he 
came home from school, he would tell his 
mother what he had heard there. He was 
very much interested in the lesson about 
sin ; a lesson which many children think 
very dull. But when he heard how much 
evil sin had brought into the world, and 
especially how much Christ has suffered 
for our sins, he hated sin very much. 

One day, when John had been doing 
wrong, his mother told him he had a wick- 
ed heart. But he would not believe it. 
He thought he loved his parents so much 
that he could not have a wicked heart. 
But, at that time, he was a little Pharisee ; 
for he did not know what was in his heart. 
16 



182 A LITTLE PRAYER. 

But a good lady, who talked with him, 
convinced him that he had a wicked heart, 
and that all children have wicked hearts, 
and must have their hearts changed by the 
Holy Spirit, before they can go to heaven. 
A little while after this, the minister 
preached a sermon from the text, ^' Make 
to yourselves a new heart;" and John's 
teacher told his class about what the min- 
ister had said. When John came home, he 
passed through the room where his mother 
was, and went into another, where the 
shutters were all closed. His mother, not 
knowing what he had gone there for, fol- 
lowed him. When she looked into the 
room, she saw John kneeling by the side of 
a chair, praying. And what do you think 
he said? He was a very little boy ; and 
little children often think they cannot pray 
without first learning a prayer ; and then 
they repeat it, perhaps, without knowing 
what it means. But John did not do so. 
He asked God to give him what he wanted, 
just as he would have asked his mother. 
His prayer was, ^^ Lord^ please give John 



John's thoughts. 183 

a new heart — Lord^ please give John a new 
hearV 

Some time after this, John was lying on 
the floor, in the room where his mother 
was, with his hands folded on his breast, 
and his eyes raised towards heaven. And 
what do you suppose he was doing 7 He 
was thinking about God and heaven, 
which is called meditation. After a while 
he said, ''Ma, will ladies go to heaven?" 
''Yes," she replied, "if they have new 
hearts, and love God." " And little boys, 
too. 7" "Yes, if they have new hearts, 
and love God." "Well, ma, John has got 
a new heart." " I am afraid not, John," 
said his mother. " What makes you think 
you have?" " Why, ma," replied he, "I 
said, please Lord, give John a new heart ; 
and you know when you say please, he 
will give it to you." 

One Saturday night, John went to bed 
as well as usual, except a sore throat. 
The next morning, he was not well enough 
to go to Sabbath school; and on this 
account he was very much disappointed. 



184 SEEK GOD EARLY. 

But he spent the day at homej talking 
about the Sabbath school, his teacher, and 
the hymns he had learned. The doctor 
came, and said he had the scarlet fever ; 
and in the afternoon he grew so much 
worse that they saw he could not get well. 
About three o'clock the next morning, his 
mother heard him saying, '' Lord, receive 
my soul." This he repeated several times, 
and fell asleep. A little while after, he 
awoke, and began to say the Lord's prayer ; 
but his throat was so sore that he could 
only say, ^^Our Father, who art in heav- 
en." He lay in this manner about two 
hours, and then died. But after he could 
not speak aloud, his mother, by putting her 
ear close to his mouth, could hear him 
say, ^' Heaven, heaven." 

From this story, dear children, you may 
learn two things. The first is, that it is 
true, as the Bible says, that they that seek 
the Lord early shall find him. Little John 
Allen was not much more than three years 
old when he sought the Lord, and, as may 
be hoped, found him. The other thing 



LITTLE EDWIN. 185 

you may learn from this story is, that 
httle children sometimes die very suddenly. 
Little John was sick only one day; and 
the next morning he died. So, it will not 
do for you to put off seeking the Lord till 
you come to be sick. But seek him and 
find him while you are well ; and then, if 
you are sick and die, you can say as he 
did, 'VLord Jesus, receive my spirit;" and 
look forward with joy to the time when 
Jesus will send his angels to carry you to 
heaven. 

5. Another pious infant scholar. 

Little Edwin belonged to an infant Sab- 
bath school in New Haven, Conn. Before 
he was two years old, he loved to hear and 
talk about the great God, who made the 
sun, moon and bright twinkling stars. He 
loved family worship. He would learn the 
hymns by heart; and he was delighted 
with the singing. In time of prayer he 
would kneel down by his father's side, and 
be very still and solemn. Edwin's dispo- 
sition was so mild and gentle, that every 
16^ 



186 INFANT MISSIONARY. 

one in the family loved to do him a favor. 
The first time he went to the infant school 
was a great time with him. O, how de- 
lighted he was, when assembled with the 
little boys and girls of his own age, on the 
holy Sabbath morning, to hear from the 
lips of his teacher about God and heaven ! 
And he was more and more interested, 
every time he went. Often, when he came 
home, he would run to his mother, and say, 
^' O, mother, I want to tell you what the 
teacher said." 

Edwin loved the heathen, and was very 
anxious to do something for them. The 
children carried money to their teacher, to 
give to the missionary society, to send min- 
isters to preach the gospel to the heathen. 
After attending a missionary meeting, one 
Sabbath day, he went home, and stood with 
a sad countenance by the side of his moth- 
er, and said, '^ Mama, do you know how 
heathen mothers kill their children?" He 
then told her a story which he had heard 
at the meeting, and said, ^^If Ilive^ I mean 
to be a missionary, and then I will go and 
tell them how wicked it is to do so." 



COMING TO CHRIST. 187 

Edwin thought much about dying, as 
every body ought ; for none of us know 
how soon we may die. Before he was 
quite three years old, he went with a friend 
to the grave-yard. Sitting on the grass, by 
the side of his httle sister's grave, he spoke 
of the time when all would rise up out of 
their graves, to meet their Judge, and said, 
^^ Shall I see my little sister there? and 
shall I know her?" 

One night, after Edwin had gone to bed, 
he began to cry. His sister asked him 
what the matter was, and he said, ^' I want 
to be a Christian. Can't I be a Christian, 
too?'' ^^Yes," said his sister. ''Do you 
not remember Jesus said, ' Suffer little 
children to come unto me?'" ''O, yes," 
said he, ^' but how shall I come ?" ''When 
you pray to him, if you really desire what 
you ask, and mean to do as Christ com- 
mands you, that is coming to him. You 
know the hymn that says, 

* God is so good that he will hear, 
Whenever children humbly pray.' " 

" Yes," said he, "I do know that well. I 



188 A PRAYING BOY. 

do want to be a Christian, and I believe I 
do love Jesus Christ.'^ Then, with a sweet 
smile, he fell asleep. 

Edwin was very fond of prayer. He 
loved to pray by himself alone; and he 
loved to go to prayer meetings. He and 
his two brothers older than himself, used to 
spend much time together in prayer ; and 
these little meetings, as he called them, 
gave him much pleasure. He and his 
brothers would often unite together in sing- 
ing and prayer, in their own room, before 
going to bed. The week before his death, 
they met and prayed together for the last 
time ; and he came down, and said to his 
sister, '' We have had a real good meeting 
up stairs." 

The last Sabbath which Edwin lived, he 
was as well as usual. It was a bright 
Sabbath, and he went to his favorite infant 
school, and was very attentive to what he 
heard. One of the class had died a little 
while before ; and the teacher spoke to the 
children about it. They sang the hymn 
that begins, 

" There is a glorious world of light ; " 



HEAVEN. 189 

and were told about heaven, and what the 
happy spirits do there, and what makes 
them so happy; also, what little children 
must be, if they would go there. The 
teacher then asked questions, to see wheth- 
er the children understood what he had 
been saying to them. Edwin was very 
much interested, and answered the ques- 
tions very readily. When he came home, 
he began to talk about heaven. ^* M.," 
said he, ^' says all may go to heaven, if 
they have a mind to." ''Yes," said his 
father, ''every one who loves the Saviour. 
Do you think you love him, Edwin? " He 
hesitated a moment, and then said, " Yes, 
I do." In the afternoon, he complained of 
being tired, and did not go to meeting. He 
spent the evening in reading his Bible and 
singing with his brother. About midnight, 
he was attacked with a burning fever, and 
lived only one day. When it was told in 
the infant school that Edwin was dead, 
one of the children said, what they no 
doubt all felt, " I think Edwin has gone to 
heaven." One thing more I will tell you 



190 READY TO DIE 

about Edwin, which I wish could be said 
of all little boys and girls. He was always 
very careful to tell the truth ; and to have 
all the little circumstances right, when he 
was relating any thing; and this every 
child who loves the Saviour will try to 
imitate. 

But how do you think little Edwdn would 
have felt, when the raging fever came on 
him, if he had had no interest in the Sa- 
viour ? If he had put off seeking the Lord, 
as many do, hoping to have time enough 
yet, how would it have been with him? 
How would he have felt to look down into 
the dark grave, if he had had no hope of 
heaven? Dear children, you, too, may die 
as suddenly as he did. Then seek the 
Lord while he may be found, and call upon 
him while he is near ; so that you may be 
always ready, when death comes, to go and 
be with Jesus. 

6. The pious Indian girl. 

Tewah-hokay was a Choctaw girl. 
When she was born, her parents were 



INDIAN GIRL. 191 

heathen, and knew nothing of Jesus. But 
they afterwards learned to know the true 
God, and love the Saviour. When she 
was nine years old, they took a long jour- 
ney to a new country, far away to the 
west. While on the journey, she had a 
fall, by which she received a severe injury 
in the back, of which she never got well. 
She was helpless. She could neither stand 
nor walk, and she suflfered very much pain. 
And what sort of a bed do you suppose 
she had ? She used to lie on some boards, 
under a shed, with only a blanket between 
her body and the hard boards : and with 
another blanket over her for a covering. 
O, how thankful you ought to be, dear 
children, that you have a good house to 
live in, and a soft bed to sleep on. She 
had scarcely any clothes to wear, and only 
some old rags, or a coarse sack filled with 
cotton for her pillow. 

Now, dear children, don't you think this 
poor lame girl was very unhappy? No, 
she was not. She was, indeed, in a 
wretched condition, as to her body; but 



192 HOW TO BE HAPPY. 

her soul was in peace, and she was happier 
than even a prince, though ever so well in 
health, could be without religion. A per- 
son visited her, and asked her how she felt 
when lying there, as she sometimes did, all 
alone. She replied, '^ When my father 
and mother are out any where, I direct my 
prayers and my thoughts all the time to 
my Father who is in heaven." She was 
asked if she prayed for others as well as 
herself; and she said, ''I do pray for all 
my brothers, sisters, friends and people." 
^^ Do you think you have ever been made 
sensible of your sins and wicked heart?" 
^^ I did not use to think of these things," 
said she, ^'but I have for some time past, 
and I continually beg of my Father in 
heaven to pity me, and forgive my sins, 
and give me a good heart." ^^ Which 
would be your choice, to live or die ?" ''If 
my heavenly Father would raise me up 
again, I should be glad ; but if it is his will 
that I should die, it will be well with me; 
I am willing to die." '' Do you love to 
thi^k of God, and hear his praises sung?" 



THE INDIAN GIRL. 193 

^^I dOj indeed, very much/' she said. 
^' Do you feel resigned to suffer such pains 
and confinement?" ^^I am wiUing to do 
sOj" she said, ^^for my heavenly Father 
knows what is best for me." '^Do you 
sometimes feel that you are a good child, 
and free from sin?" '^ I do not, for I 
know I am a sinner." She said to her 
mother, ^^ Though I am afflicted with these 
sores, yet my Father above may pity me, 
as he did Lazarus. O, that I might be 
like Lazarus ! who, though he died in great 
distress, was saved in heaven." Some one 
inquired if she did not think she was now 
a good child. '^I do not think so," she 
said. ^^ Do you love your mother?" said 
her visiter. ^^ I do, indeed, love my moth- 
er," she replied. ^' Which do you love 
best, your mother, or the Lord Jesus 
Christ? " '' I love Jesus better than I love 
my mother. My love to my mother is not 
so strong as it is to Jesus." 

Her father built a new house in the 
woods, and she was removed to it, while a 
part of the family remained behind. When 
17 



194 THE INDIAN GIRL. 

she was about to leave, she said, ^^My 
brothers, I go before you, while you remain 
here. O, my beloved brothers, this is the 
day of my parting from you. O, that my 
brothers and sisters would, while they 
remain here, trust in God alone. Should I 
remain at this house, you would see me 
when I die ; but as I am going to another 
house to die, you may not see me. But do 
not mourn and afflict yourselves. My 
beloved brothers, follow me." It was not 
long before she died ; but just before her 
eyes Avere closed in death, she said to her 
parents, ^^My father, my mother, do you 
still continue to love one another. This is 
the day of our separation. Thus 1 lie. 
Soon I shall see you no more. But do not 
grieve and mourn. I think I shall surely 
reach that blissful place above. It is said, 
although the poor man lay at the gate, yet 
his heavenly Father had compassion on 
him. O, that he would pity me." 

Dear children, this was a little Indian 
girl. She could not read. She had never 
been to Sabbath school. She had not the 



AN INFANT CHRISTIAN. 195 

means you have of knowing what she 
ought to do. If she could seek the Lord, 
and find him, surely you may. If, there- 
fore, you go on in sin, and never become a 
Christian; who will be to blame ? 

7. An infant Christian, 

A little girl, two years old, gave evidence 
of piety. She would acknowledge God in 
every thing. She would not even receive a 
piece of bread, without saying, '^ How kind 
God is, to give me this." She would ask 
her mother to help her examine her heart, 
to see whether her feelings were good or 
bad. She died when she was four years 
old. She said she knew she was not good 
enough to live ; but she hoped she had a 
new heart, and that she should go to 
heaven and be with Christ. If you who 
are younger knew you were to die when 
you shall be four years old, how early 
would you wish to become Christians ? Do 
you know how old you will be when you 
die 7 What is the safe way to do, then ? 
If you knew you would live to be old and 



196 A RELIGIOUS CHILD. 

gray-headedj what would be the best time 
to seek the Lord ? Did you ever see an 
old person who thought he had begun too 
early to serve the Lord 7 Will you ask 
some aged Christian if he is not sorry that 
he began to seek the Lord so young ? 

8. Effects of religion upon a child, 

John Merry was the son of a minister. 
He died a little before he was six years old. 
He was always attentive to serious things; 
but his father and mother did not think he 
was a Christian, till a few months before 
he died, when they noticed a great change 
in him. Before this change took place, he 
was very fretful and peevish. But now he 
showed a sweet temper. He was very 
submissive to the will of his parents. He 
used to dread death, and wish that he 
might go to heaven without dying. But 
this dread of death was now taken away, 
and he sometimes wished to die. On being 
asked why he wished to die, he replied, 
^' That I may go to be with Jesus." He 
spoke with great animation of the happi- 



JOHN MERRY. 197 

ness of heaven. He was delighted with 
the thought that there was no sin there, 
nor any pain ; and that all who are there 
are for ever with the Lord, and see his 
face. 

John loved to read the Bible and talk 
about Jesus and heavenly things ; and he 
took delight in the Sabbath. He hated 
sin, and longed to be made holy. He 
would shed tears of grief when he heard 
any one read or speak of the evil of sin, or 
of what Jesus suffered for our sins. He 
prayed very earnestly, in his own words, 
for the things that he wished for. When 
any of the family were sick, or when he 
visited a sick person with his father, or 
when he noticed any thing that interested 
him, in any one with whom he had been 
talking, during the day, he would pray for 
them, when he kneeled down to pray at 
night. He prayed very earnestly Sabbath 
mornings, before he went to meeting, that 
God would help him to understand his 
word, and that sinners might be converted. 
He was very attentive in time of prayer, 
17* 



198 LAW AND GOSPEL. 

not gazing about all over the house, but 
following in his heart the words of the 
minister. While his father was preaching, 
John's eyes were fixed on him, and he lis- 
tened very attentively to every thing he 
said ; and on his way home, he would tell 
his mother what he had heard. The last 
Sabbath he went to meeting, his father 
preached on the law ; and on his way home, 
he asked his mother what was the use of the 
law. She told him that it was to show us 
our sins. ^^O, then,'' said he, ^' the law 
shows us our sins, and then we go to Jesus 
for the pardon of them." As soon as he 
got home, he would go by himself and pray 
for God's blessing on what he had heard; 
and all he could remember of the sermon 
that was suited to him, he would turn into 
a prayer. The sermon being one Sabbath 
on the conversation between Jesus and the 
Samaritan woman, about the living water 
that should spring up to everlasting life, he 
prayed every day of that week that God 
would give him the water of life. After 
dinner, Sabbath day, he would take his 



TWO ROADS. 199 

Bible and go to his mother, and say, 
^'Now, mama, I want to find all the pas- 
sages in the Bible which papa mentioned 
in his sermon;" and then he would repeat 
several passages which his father had 
quoted. One day he mentioned something 
that his father had said in his sermon some 
weeks before. ^^Mama,'' said he, ^'you 
know papa spoke in his sermon about a 
person going on a wrong road ; and when 
he saw that he was wrong, he would turn 
about and get into the right one. Now, 
mama, is it not so with those who have 
been living in sin, and turn to God ? They 
first see that they have been in the wrong 
road, and then they turn and get into the 
right road." 

One Sabbath, John saw a little boy at 
play in church, and went up to him and 
told him how wicked it was to play on the 
Sabbath. He often talked to others about 
serious things; and one day he told his 
mother that he had been talking to a cer- 
tain person about prayer, but she gave him 
no answer, and he thought she did not love 



200 John's death. 

prayer. He often reproved his little broth- 
ers for being naughty, and told them that 
they ought to pray for a new heart. One 
day, when one of them got angry and 
struck at the other, John fell on his knees, 
and asked God to forgive his brother for 
being so naughty. When he saw them 
looking from the window at any boys play- 
ing in the streets, on the Sabbath, he would 
tell them that they were as naughty as the 
boys themselves. When he was but three 
years old, he never would look out at the 
window at the boys that were at play in 
the street, lest he should break the Sabbath 
by desiring to be with them. 

John was sick but a little while before he 
died. When he began to be sick, he asked 
his mother to pray for him. She asked 
him what he wished her to pray for. 
'^ That I may be made well," said he. *^ Do 
you, then, my dear," said his mother, 
^^ wish rather to be well than to die?" He 
answered, ''No; but I wish to be made a 
holy boy, and a child of God : and then, 
you know, mama, I shall go to heaven if I 



SEEKING GOD EARLY. 201 

die ; and if I were made a holy boy, I had 
rather die.'' While he had his senses, he 
would keep asking his father and mother 
to pray for him ; but his disease was in his 
head, and he became deranged: but still 
he kept talking about prayer, and often 
asked God to make him holy. He suffered 
a great deal of pain ; yet he did not com- 
plain, but showed a sweet, patient spirit 
under his sufferings. 

What a dreadful thing it would have 
been, if this little boy had been taken sick, 
and lost his reason, before he was renewed, 
and while yet he had no hope ! Do you 
think it best, dear children, to put off pre- 
paring for death till you are sick ? John 
was a very lovely boy. Who made him 
so ? How did he come to be changed from 
a bad boy to a good one ? What do you 
admire most in his character? How may 
you be like him ? 

9. Seeking God early. 

Dr. Adam Clarke, when he was a boy, 
was very fond of hearing Mr. Rutherford 



202 DR. CLARKE. 

preach; and when Mr. R. came to the 
place where his father hved, and preached 
in different places around; Adam would 
follow him every where; and when he 
came back, he would walk behind the good 
man. One evening, Mr. Rutherford noticed 
him, and turned about and said, ^' Well, 
child, God hath said, ^ I love them that 
love me, and those that seek me early shall 
find me.' " Adam thought much of these 
words, and said to himself, '^ What does 
he mean by 'those that seek me early?' 
I rise early, and my first work is prayer ; 
is that what is meant '? No ; it is they who 
seek God early in life, — when they are 
young. Then thus I seek, and thus I will 
seek the Lord. He said, also, they ' shall 
find me;' others, perhaps, may seek and 
not find ; but God says to the young, they 
SHALL find!" Adam did seek and find; 
and he lived a long life, became a minister 
of the gospel, and wrote a commentary on 
the whole Bible. 



THE PRAYING GIRL. 203 

10. The little girl that thought God would 
do right to shut her out of heaven, 

A little girl, who died when she was six 
years and ten months old, became, when 
she was nearly six years old, very anxious 
about her soul. She said she was afraid 
she should not go to heaven when she died. 
Every morning and evening, she would 
ask her mother to let her go with her when 
she went alone to pray. She would pray 
very earnestly herself, that she might be 
one of the happy children around God's 
throne. She would cry because she did 
not love as she ought the blessed Saviour 
who had loved her so much. She was 
never tired of praying and hearing her 
mother talk of serious things ; but would 
plead with her to stay longer with her in 
the closet, saying, ''I want you to tell me 
more of Jesus." She was very anxious 
about her brother and sister ; and would be 
very happy when she could persuade them 
to go with her and her mother to pray. 
One day her mother told her she might 



204 THE PIOUS LITTLE GIRL. 

have her choice, to go visiting, or to go to 
a prayer meeting ; and she chose to go to 
the prayer meeting. She once said she 
hoped that her sins were forgiven, that she 
loved God, and that he would take her to 
live with him in heaven. Some one asked 
her, '' Do you hope to go to heaven because 
you pray so much, and are so good a girl?" 
She replied, '^No; only for Christ's sake." 
^^ What if you should not be admitted into 
heaven, — would you think that right?" 
^^ Yes," said she, with a very solemn coun- 
tenance. She was always interested in the 
Sabbath school : and when her teacher was 
talking to other children, she would get 
close to her, that she might hear what she 
said. 

This little girl was very suddenly taken 
ill; and she was asked, ^^ Which had you 
rather do, get well, or die? " She said she 
had rather die. ^'Why?" ^^I shall be 
happier. I want to be with Jesus." 
''What! leave father and mother, brother 
and sister?" She stopped to think a mo- 
ment, and then said, '' I want you all to 



TWO THINGS. 205 

come, too." She was not afraid of death; 
but talked about it calmly. During her 
sickness, she was often asked what she was 
thinking about; and she would always 
answer, that she was thinking about God, 
or the sufferings of Christ, or some such 
subject. She was asked if she prayed ; and 
she said she did, in her thoughts. 

There are two things, dear children, 
which I wish you to notice in this story. 
This little girl did not expect to go to heav- 
en because she was so good, and prayed so 
much ; but only for the sake of Christ. 
That is the way you must all feel. You 
could not be saved for being good, unless 
you were so good as never to have done 
wrong in your life ; which no one ever was, 
except Christ. So you must be saved, if 
you are saved at all, only for the sake of 
Christ. Another thing is, that she thought 
God would do right, if he should shut her 
out of heaven. She saw her own heart, 
and she knew she was not fit, and did not 
deserve to be there : so she said God would 
do right to shut her out. 
18 



206 missionary's son. 

11. The missionary^ s son. 

Charles S. Winslow was the son of a 
missionary. His father and mother left 
their native land, went into a ship, and 
were several months on the water, going 
to India, where the heathen live. Charles 
was born there, and lived among the heath- 
en till he was between ten and eleven years 
old ; when his father sent him home, that 
he might go to school, and be prepared to 
go back and be a missionary to the heath- 
en. He had not so many privileges there 
as children have in this country; yet he 
became a Christian while there ; and that 
made him willing to leave his father and 
mother, that he might bo prepared to 
become a missionary ; for he saw the poor 
heathen, and pitied them very much. He 
went on board a ship, without any one with 
him but the captain and the sailors ; and 
they were strangers, and none of them 
pious. He kept a Httle book, called a jour- 
nal, in which he wrote his feelings every 
day. I will tell you some things that he 



missionary's son. 207 

wrote, so that you may know how he felt : 
^^I wish," says he, '' there was a Christian 
on board, that I might follow his example ; 
but I pray to God to show me how to 
walk." You, dear children, have the ex- 
amples of Christians all around you ; yet, 
you must not neglect to pray to God. 
Again, he says, ^' When I am unhappy, I 
go and pray, and the Lord comforts me." 
Do you go and pray, when you are un- 
happy? Again, he says, ''^I love very 
much to read the Bible and pray; and 
when I am praying, I am a little comforted, 
and I hope the Lord hears my prayers." 
^^ To-day I was very unhappy, but I 
thought it was the will of God that I should 
leave my dear parents, and that comforted 
me." '' I hope I shall come back as a mis- 
sionary to the natives of the country where 
I was born." He loved the heathen, and 
wanted to do them good. At another time, 
he writes, ^' There is no retired place in 
the ship, where I can go and read the Bible, 
and pray, quietly; and I often think, my 
dear parents, how I used to come into your 



208 COMFORT FROM PRAYER. 

room and pray." After he arrived in this 
country, he spoke of the heathen with 
much feehngj and said he wanted very 
much to preach the gospel to them. Three 
days before he died, he was asked if he 
loved to think of texts of Scripture, when 
he was lying on his bed. He replied, 
^^ Yes; but prayer is my greatest comfort." 
He was asked if he thought there was 
much wickedness in his heart. ''Yes," 
said he, ''a great deal." ''Does it ever 
distress you to find so much there that is 
displeasing to God?" "Yes, very often." 
" What do you do, when you feel troubled 
about your wicked heart?" "Prayer is 
the only thing," he replied. A few hours 
before he lost his reason, he said, "I think 
the Lord comforts me very much." 

12. / ought to have repented two years ago, 

'* James," said little Isaac Randall to his 
brother, as he lay upon his bed, very sick, 
"I ought to have repented two years ago, 
when I felt serious^ and knew that God 
was calling upon me to repent; but now I 



PUTTING OFF REPENTANCE. 209 

have no feeling, and I am afraid I shall 
die." God had called upon this dear little 
boy-j two years before, to repent, and give 
him his heart, and be prepared to die; but 
he thought there would be time enough 
yet, and that he was too young to repent: 
and so he put it off. But see how he felt 
when God made him sick. When he was 
afraid he was going to die, he wanted to be 
a Christian. He knew that if he were to 
die then, he could not go where Jesus was ; 
but when God's Spirit was striving with 
him two years before, he would not hear. 
Dear children, do you want to be in such 
a condition when you come to be sick ? If 
you do not, then 3^ou must seek the Lord 
now, while he may be found, and call upon 
him while he is near. If we are always 
ready, we shall never be frightened at sick- 
ness and death. 

13. The sweetness and simplicity of early 
piety. 

Dear children, there is one thing more I 
wish to tell you about the advantages of 

18# 



210 EFFECTS OF EARLY PIETY. 

early piety. If you become pious when 
you are very young, you will make better 
Christians. You will have a better dispo- 
sition, and be more amiable and lovely; 
for your bad dispositions will not have an 
opportunity to grow so strong as they 
otherwise would ; and piety will grow into 
all your habits. I shall tell you but one 
story more ; and that is one that will show 
you the loveliness of early piety. Little 
Rosina lived in Germany, more than a hun- 
dred years ago. She was the only child of 
very poor but pious parents. But when she 
was a little girl, not quite eight years old, 
her father died, and left her and her moth- 
er without any thing to eat, or any money 
to buy food. While her father was sick, 
Rosina sat by his bed, sung hymns, and 
prayed with him. When her father died, 
her mother mourned and wept very much. 
But the little girl comforted her mother 
with the passages of Scripture and verses 
of hymns which she had learned at school. 
'' Dear mother," said she, '^ weep not; we 
had better pray and work. When I come 



A BAD GIHL. 211 

out of school, I will weave straw for hats ; 
and God will not forsake us." 

In this way the poor woman and her 
little daughter lived ; and by the blessing 
of God, they suffered no want. That is 
what the Bible says, *^ They that seek the 
Lord shall not want any good thing." The 
little girl went diligently to school ; and 
after school, with equal diligence, she wove 
straw for hats. Her only play-thing was 
a hen, which she had raised from a chick- 
en, and fed with crumbs of bread. But one 
day, when her mother was gone away to 
work, she came home, and seated herself 
before the door of the house, to weave 
straw. A naughty girl, three years older 
than Rosina, came along and tried to make 
Rosina play with her; but she would not. 
Then the naughty girl became angry, and 
threw little Rosina down upon the ground, 
and knelt down upon her, and hurt her 
very much, so that she cried out for pain. 
When Rosina' s mother came home, she 
told her what had happened. But her 
mother supposed she was not hurt much, 



212 LITTLE ROSINA. 

and went with her to bed. But in the 
morning, Rosina was very sick, so that she 
could not get up ; and the medicines that 
the doctor gave her did not do her any- 
good. She then asked her mother to send 
for the minister to pray for her ; for she 
thought she should die. This made her 
mother feel very bad, and she said, ^^ My 
dear child, whom should I then have? 
You are still my consolation. Indeed, you 
will not die ! " ^^ Dear mother," said Ro- 
sina, ^' God must be your consolation. 
Trust in him. Do you not know how we 
sing, ^ Because thou art my God and com- 
forter, thou wilt not forsake thy child ? ' " 
The minister came, and Rosina was very 
glad. She prayed very fervently, and said 
that she had a constant desire after heaven. 
Her mother said, ^' Dear child, why do you 
wish to die, you are so young?" Rosina 
answered, ''It is better to be in heaven. 
There I shall be with Jesus ; and you will 
follow me. Do not weep for me." 

She lived nine days after she was hurt. 
The minister, Mr. Gerber, and his son, 



A HAPPY DEATH. 213^ 

often visited her; and they found her a 
very happy child. She was always pray- 
ing ; and while in severe pain, she was as 
patient and quiet as a lamb. The day 
before her death, she said to her mother, 
^^ The minister has so often visited me, and 
prayed with me, and you have nothing 
that you can give him, — ah, give him my 
hen, when I am dead, and I beg him that 
he would take it kindly." The last day of 
her life, some pious people called to see her. 
She asked them to sing the hymn that 
begins, 

" How beautifully shines the morning star ; " 

and when they had almost done, she softly 
and sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. Death, 
my dear children, will have no terrors to 
you, if you will be like little Rosina. 

But what do you think of the naughty 
girl that abused her so ? What command- 
ment did she break ? O, what a dreadful 
thing it is to indulge angry feelings ! He 
that is angry without cause breaks the 
sixth commandment ; and you cannot tell, 
if you indulge anger, what it may lead you 
to do. 



214 DISOBEDIENCE PUNISHED. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FILIAL OBEDIENCE. 
CONSEQUENCES OF DISOBEDIENCE. 

1. The little girl who disobeyed her mother ^ 
and was burned. 

A little girl had been often told by her 
mother not to go into the parlor to play, 
but to stay in the nursery, while her moth- 
er was out. But one day, when her 
mother was gone, she thought to herself, 
^^ I should like to go in the parlor and play. 
I don't see why my mother is not willing 
to have me play there. I am sure I should 
do no harm ; and mother will never know 
it. I Avill go." So she took her play- things 
and went into the parlor. She began toss- 
ing her doll about, never thinking of the 
fire, till she ran against the grate, and her 
muslin dress caught fire, and she was 
dreadfully burnt. She suffered a great deal 



DISOBEDIENCE PUNISHED. 215 

of pain, before she got well ; and she carried 
the marks of her disobedience on her face 
and neck as long as she lived. Children 
often think their parents have no good 
reason for denying to gratify their wishes ; 
but if they disobey, they generally find 
that they were denied for their own good. 
Dear children, do you not generally get 
into trouble, when you disobey your pa- 
rents? If you will look back, and think of 
what has happened to you, when you have 
disobeyed, I think you will say this is true. 

2. The lost boy that went in a boat^ which 

his father had forbidden him, to do. 

(See ch. viii, No. 4, p. 127.) 

3. The young man who went sailing on the 
Sabbath^ against his m^other^s wishes^ 
and was drowned. 

(See ch. xi, No. 1, p. 153.) 

4. The disobedient boy^ who fell through the 

ice, and was drovmed. 

(See ch. xi, No. 3, p. 156.) 



216 DISOBEDIENCE PUNISHED. 

5. The widow^s sons^ v)ho disobeyed their 

mother^ and were drowned, 

(See ch. xi, No. 4, p. 159.) 

6. The young man who disobeyed his fa- 

ther^ and was shot, 

(See ch. xi, No. 5, p. 159.) 

7. The boy that thought he knew better than 

his mother^ and broke his arm, 

(See ch. xi, No. 9, p. 161.) 

8. The boy and the rose, 

A little boy asked his mother if he might 
walk in the garden. She told him to go 
along with his sister; but to do nothing 
but what his sister said was right. They 
were much pleased with the plants and 
the flowers ; but the boy saw a rose and 
thought he would pick it. His sister told 
him not to pick the rose; but he would 
not mind her. He ran to the bush, and 
snatched the rose by the stem ; but the 
stem was covered with thorns, which ran 
into his hand, and hurt him very much, 



BURNED TO DEATH. 217 

SO that it was soon covered with blood. 
Did this Httle boy break the fifth com- 
mandment? His mother did not tell him 
not to pick the rose; how was it, then, 
that he disobeyed, her ? 

9. The little girl that disobeyed her aunt^ 
and was burned to death, 

Emma and her sister had come to visit 
their Uttle cousin. Her aunt had to go 
out a few moments; so she put some 
chairs before the fire, and led the children 
into the yard in front of the house, and 
told them to play there; ^^but," said she, 
^'be sure you do not go near the fire;" 
and they all promised that they would not. 
But Emma soon forgot her promise, and 
moved away the chairs and went to the 
fire-place. When her aunt returned, she 
was running about, all in flames, scream- 
ing as loud as she could ; and before the 
fire could be put out, she was so dreadfully 
burnt that she only lived till the next day. 
Dear children, when you go to visit your 
aunts, should you mind them? Children 
19 



218 BURNED TO DEATH. 

ought to obey their parents, teachers, and 
all who are at any time set over them; 
for these persons are in the place of their 
parents; and if they do not obey them, 
they break the fifth commandment. 

10. The hoy that disobeyed his mother^ and 
was burned to death. 

One night, a boy wanted to go a hunting 
with some other boys. His mother told 
him he must not go. But he would not 
mind her. He went with the other boys ; 
but they lost themselves in the woods, and 
had to stay out all night. They built a 
fire by an old log, and lay down to sleep. 
The disobedient boy made himself a bed 
of dry leaves, on which he hoped to sleep 
comfortably. But God says there is no 
peace to the wicked. In the night the fire 
got to the leaves on which he lay, and 
when he awoke, the flames were all around 
him. He tried to run away from the fire ; 
but he could not, for his clothes were all on 
fire. The poor boy was dreadfully burned. 
A man who was up before day heard his 



THE NETTLES. 219 

screamSj and came to him. The boy told 
the man that he was burned to death ; that 
this was the third time he had disobeyed 
his mother in the same way; and he was 
sure he should die. The man took him to 
his house, and sent for the doctor and for 
his poor mother. They did all they could 
for him; but they could not save him. He 
lived a few days in great pain, and then 
died. He was very sorry that he had dis« 
obeyed his mother ; and he asked her to 
pray that God would forgive him. Before 
he died, he said he hoped all the boys of 
the town would be warned by what had 
come upon hini; not to disobey their 
mothers. Dear children, this warning 
speaks to you as well as to the children 
of the town in which he lived. If this 
boy had obeyed his mother, he would 
have been saved from an awful death. 

11. The disobedient boy that fell into the 
ditch. 

Some children were enjoying a holiday 
finely, gathering flowers in the field, and 



220 LITTLE THOMAS. 

making posies. They had been told to 
keep away from a ditch, at the bottom of 
the field. But one little boy named Jarvis, 
thought he was wiser than his mother; 
and he was not afraid of the ditch. He 
saw a beautiful flower on the bank, just 
over the ditch. So he threw away all the 
flowers he had in his hands, and ran to get 
it. But, in going down the bank, his foot 
slipped, and away he rolled, down to the 
bottom of the ditch, among some nettles 
that stung him dreadfully. He screamed 
out, as he lay on his back ; for which ever 
way he turned, his cheeks and fingers 
brushed against the nettles. At length he 
was pulled out of the ditch, with his clothes 
all plastered with mud, and his hands and 
face smarting dreadfully. Dear children, do 
you think it is a good thing for children to 
have their own way ? 

12. The hoy that disobeyed his mother^ and 
^ fell into the pond. 

Thomas would have been a pretty good 
boy, if he had not been disobedient. But 



LITTLE THOMAS. 221 

he was not careful to mind his parents. 
Where Thomas Hvedj there was a beautiful 
garden; at the bottom of which was a 
deep pond, with some steps and a gate 
leading to it. Thomas was allowed to play 
in the garden ; but his mother had told him 
over and over again, '' Be sure^ you do not 
go near thepondP One day, when Thomas 
was all alone in the garden, he thought he 
would go and play with the water. He 
thought his mother need not be so strict 
with him ; for he was sure there was no 
danger ; and he could not see what harm 
there was in playing just in the edge of the 
water. So he opened the gate, and walked 
down the steps. There was a little frost 
and the steps were slippery. His foot 
slipped, and down he fell. He struck the 
back of his head on the steps, which took 
away his reason, and his limbs hung down 
in the cold water. There he lay till he 
was found and carried into the house. He 
was put into a warm bed, and the doctor 
sent for ; but it was many hours before his 
reason came again. O, how do you think 
19# 



222 EYES PICKED OUT. 

his dear mother felt, when she was watch- 
ing over her disobedient boy, not knowing 
as he would ever have his reason again ! 
But when Thomas came to himself, his 
head and eyes were found to be very much 
injured by the fall ; and they are still very 
bad, and it is not likely he will ever get 
over the effects of this fell. Dear children, 
which do you think the wiser, yourselves 
or your parents? For whose good is it, 
that you obey your parents ? 

13. Eyes picked out 

There was a young man, in a certain 
town in England, who was very dis- 
obedient to his parents. He was missing, 
for several days ; and diligent search was 
made for him. At last, he was found 
among the hills, cold, stiff, and dead, with 
his eyes picked out of his head. Dear chil- 
dren, can you tell what Scripture was ful- 
filled in him ? 



BOY DROWNED. 223 

14. The disobedient hoy that was drowned. 

About twenty miles from Boston, lived 
a sprightly little boy, who was very fond 
of all sorts of play that generally interest 
and delight children. He loved very much 
to slide on the ice, in the winter; and he 
would sometimes hurry his work, and gain 
time for this purpose. One pleasant morn- 
ing in December, he arose, thinking he 
should have much pleasure with his play- 
mates. His father was gone, and he 
thought his mother would give him leave 
to go, when he had finished his task. This 
he did very soon, for he was an active lad ; 
and his mother was pleased to encourage 
him, and she let him go and visit his play- 
mates ; but sh^ charged him not to go on 
the pond, because there was danger of 
breaking through the ice and being drown- 
ed. He promised that he would not go on 
the pond, and bounded off with great glee, 
to meet his companions. He found them 
preparing to go on the ice ; and they per- 
suaded him to go with them, contrary to 



224 HURTj BUT NOT PITIED. 

his promise, and the command of his moth- 
er. But the ice was thin, and they broke 
through. The people came to help them, 
and all the rest of the boys were saved; 
but the disobedient boy was drowned. 
How do you suppose this httle boy's father 
and mother, and brothers and sisters felt, 
when he was brought home cold, and stiff, 
and dead? How many commandments 
did he break ? 

15. The disobedient girl, who got hurt and 
ivas not pitied. 

One Sabbath morning, Elizabeth was not 
very well, and her mother told her she had 
better not go to meeting, but stay in the 
parlor and read till the other children were 
come home. ^' But," said her mother, ^' do 
not leave the room, nor go into the closet." 
Elizabeth promised that she would be a 
good girl, and do as her mother bade her. 
Elizabeth knew there was a large dish of 
cakes on the upper shelf of the closet ; and 
she thought, as her mother was gone, and 
she was alone, she would take some of 



THE LIE. 225 

them. But she forgot to look up^ to see 
who was looking on her from above. She 
opened the closet door, and climbed up on 
the shelves, till she laid her hand on the 
edge of the dish. Then her foot slipped, 
and she fell, and pulled over the dish and 
the cakes. She bruised and cut herself 
quite badly; making such a noise, too, 
that a lady who was staying in the house, 
but was not able to go to meeting that day, 
came down. There the foolish and wicked 
child lay on the floor, the dish broken, and 
the cakes scattered around. She cried very 
hard ; but the lady could not pity her very 
much, because she knew that she deserved 
to be punished for her disobedience. But 
what do you suppose she said, when the 
lady asked her how it happened? She 
said she was climbing up to get a drink of 
water. Her mother very soon came home, 
and she had to confess that she was climb- 
ing up to steal her mother's cakes. How 
many commandments did she break ? Who 
saw her do it? Who punished her for it? 
In these cases, we see how often God 



226 ACCIDENTS TO CHILDREN. 

punishes disobedient children in this life. 
The promise of long life is made to them 
that honor their father and mother. We 
may expect, then, that those who do not 
honor them will have their days cut short, 
as in the instances related. This may not 
always be the case ; and perhaps all obedi- 
ent children do not live to be old ; but they 
generally do. And I think most of the 
accidents that happen to children, will be 
found connected with disobedience to their 
parents. They are denied something they 
want, because their parents think it will 
not be good for them to have it. Then 
they are dissatisfied with their parents, and 
think they will have their own way. But 
in having their own way, they often bring 
great evil, and sometimes death, upon 
themselves. 

THE END OF DISOBEDIENCE. 

16. The murdered hoy^ and the msn and 
women that were hanged, 

Samuel Lofton, who was about thirteen 
years old, was a scholar in a Sabbath 



THE MURDERED BOY. 227 

school in Illinois. He was a very good 
boy. His father sent him some miles from 
home, to get some money. Samuel did as 
his father bade him ; and when he got the 
money, he set out for home. As he was 
going along the road, a very wicked man, 
named James Sullivan, met and caught 
hold of him. Samuel knew this man; for 
he had lived with Samuel's father, and he 
had often seen him drunk. Samuel was 
very much frightened when this wicked 
man began to rob him of the money that 
he had been getting for his father : and he 
begged very hard that he would not kill 
him. But Sullivan had no fear of God, 
nor did he regard his law ; for he was a 
drunkard, and did not care what he did ; so 
he dragged Samuel into the bushes, near 
the road, and cruelly killed him. This was 
Saturday, and Samuel's father and mother 
heard nothing of him till the next Tuesday, 
when they found him dead in the bushes, 
all cut and bruised. 

Sullivan ran away, and went to New- 
Orleans, where he got drunk again ; and as 



228 END OF DISOBEDIENCE. 

he did not know what he was saying, he 
began to talk about his murdering Samuel. 
The constables took him and put him in 
jail. When he was tried before the judge, 
he confessed his guilt. Then he was put 
back in jail a while, and after that he was 
carried out in a cart to the gallows. A 
rope was put round his neck, and he was 
hanged up till he was dead. 

And what do you think he said about 
himself? He told the people that one of 
his first sins was, disobeying his parents. 
Then he went on, from one sin to another, 
till he began to swear and get drunk ; and 
then he committed murder, and was hang- 
ed. It is a dreadful thing to disobey your 
parents. It is the beginning of sin ; and 
you know not where or what will be the 
end. It often comes on the gallows. 

Five persons, two men and three women, 
were hanged in Massachusetts, a great 
many years ago, four of them in Boston, 
and one in Springfield, who said that dis- 
obedience to their parents was the chief 
caus^ of their dreadful end. One of them 



END OF DISOBEDIENCE. 229 

said, " My disobedience to my parents has 
brought this misery upon me. My father 
gave me good instructions when I was a 
child; but I did not mind them. I would 
not go to school, when my father would 
have sent me to it. I would not go to a 
trade, when my father put me to one. 
After my father died, I would not mind 
those who had the care of me. I ran 
away from several masters. And now, I 
have rjan into the jaws of death." 

Another of the men had pious parents, 
but was a very wicked child, and began 
early to disobey them. He went on from 
one thing to another, till the gallows was 
his end. 

Another one, a young woman, said, " I 
believe the chief thing that has brought me 
into my present condition is, disobedience 
to my parents. I despised all their godly 
counsels and reproof; and I was always of 
a haughty, stubborn spirit. So that now I 
am a dreadful instance of the curse of God 
upon disobedient children. Although I 
was baptized, yet, when I grew up, I for^ 
^0 



230 END OF DISOBEDIENCE. 

got the bonds that were laid upon me to 
become the Lord's. If I had given myself 
to God, how happy should I have been. 
Another young woman^ that was hung at 
the same time, confessed, that it was de- 
spising the instructions of a pious parent 
that brought her to such a dreadful end. 
Another, who w^as hung when she was 
only nineteen years old, behaved so badly 
towards her parents, that they were almost 
afraid to speak to her ; but when they did, 
they told her that she would come lo the 
gallows at last. 

It is a great sin against God to disobey 
your parents ; and he will dreadfully pun- 
ish disobedient children, either in this 
world, or in the world to come. 



EXAMPLES TO ILLUSTRATE WHAT IS 
MEANT BY HONORING PARENTS. 

1 7. Th e boy that wanted to have his oton way, 

^'I don't want to stay at home, mother, 
I don't," said little Charles, '-^ I want to go 
out and play with the other boys." 



POUTING. 231 

^'No, Charles," said his mother. ^^You 
know that you have not been well for two 
or three days, and I fear it would make 
you quite sick to go out to-day." 

^' No it wouldn't make me sick, either," 
said Charles, in a cross and surly manner, 
beginning to cry; — '^ Mother, mayn't I go7" 

Did Charles honor his mother, when he 
spoke to her in this way 7 

Charles's mothershook her head ; and he 
knew after she had once refused him, it 
would be of no use to tease her. So he 
hung up his cap and sat down, wishing he 
was a man, and then he could go out and 
play with the boys whenever he had a 
mind to. Did he honor his mother in his 
heart, when he felt so? How ought he to 
have felt, when his mother denied him 
what he asked ? He drew his little chair 
near the stove, where the cat was playing 
with a basket. ^'O," thought he, ^'how 
happy you are, puss, for you can play just 
as much as you please." As the birds 
. flew by the window, and sung in the yard, 
he looked out, and wished he was as free 



232 REBELLION. 

and happy as they seemed to be. Now all 
this was rebelUon against his mother. It 
was dishonoring her in his heart ; and if 
Charles had dared to, he would have gone 
out to play without his mother's leave. 

After Charles had been sitting in this 
way for some time, his mother kindly 
asked, — ^^ Charles, do you not feel too 
warm, there, so near the stove? Had 
you not better sit farther back?" He 
pouted out his lips, and his answer was 
very rude and saucy. I had rather not re- 
peat it, it was so naughty. But he did 
not speak the truth; for he did not ac- 
knowledge that he was warm, though he 
was so warm that his face was quite red 
with the heat. I suppose he thought if he 
sat there and hurt himself, his kind mother 
would feel bad ; and he wanted to pay her 
for not letting him go out. Was that hon- 
oring his mother ? He knew she was very 
kind to him ; and that it was her kindness 
to him that made her forbid him to go out. 
She knew he was not well, and she was 
afraid he would get sick. What do you 
think^of such conduct ? 



FEELING WRONG. 233 

^^ Charles, my son," said his good moth- 
er, ^^I see you feel very angry, and it 
grieves me. You wish to play out doors 
in the damp air ; but I think it would be 
imprudent. Now, you must remember 
that little boys do not know what is for 
their good, as Avell as their mothers dov 
You should, therefore, be willing to submit 
to what I say. What do you think about 
it, Charles?" Charles made no answer. 
'^ I say, Charles, what do you think about 
it?" In a very sullen manner he mut- 
tered, ''I don't know." ^' What?" said his 
mother. And he repeated what he had 
said, in a sharp, pettish tone, moving his 
elbows backwards and forwards. Did 
Charles honor his mother, when he did 
this ? He knew he was feeling and acting 
wrong; and it made him feel a great deal 
worse to hear his mother speak kindly tohim. 
His bosom heaved, his heart beat, and he 
wished he could fly. At last, the tears 
began to fill his eyes; his heart was melt- 
ed, and he began to feel sorry that he had 
been so naughty. He dropped on his knees, 
20# 



234 REPENTING. 

and said in a low, tender voice, " Mother, 
will you forgive me for speaking so just 
now? I hope I may never speak to you 
in such a way again." After a moment's 
pause, his mother said, '' Yes, my son, as 
you now confess your guilt, and seem to 
feel sorry for it, I freely forgive you. But 
you have broken one of the commandments 
of God. God says, ^ Children, obey your 
parents in all things ; for this is well pleas- 
ing unto the Lord.' Now, I told you that 
you must not go out to play, and you did 
not go, but you felt angry because I would 
not give you leave to go. So, you obeyed 
me with your body but not with your heart. 
Is that well pleasing unto the Lord?" 
"No, mother," he said, and reached out 
his hand for her to take it. His mother 
then led him into her bed-room, and Charles 
kneeled by her side, and asked God to for- 
give him. As they came out, Charles 
looked up in his mother's face, with a 
sweet smile, and said, "I do love you, 
mother. 1 feel happy now." What was 
it that Charles did, after he saw how 
naughty he had been? He repented. 



AN OBEDIENT BOY. 235 

18. An obedient boy. 

A child who truly honors his father and 
mother, in his heart, will obey them as 
well when they are absent as present. The 
parents' authority and honor are always 
present with the good child. A little boy 
ran along to another in a hurry and said, 
'^ Come, Ben, go with me." ^'Have you 
asked my mother if I may go?" said Ben- 
jamin. ^* No," replied the other. ^' Well," 
said Benjamin, ''I will go and ask her." 
*'No, no," said the other, ^^I wont wait 
for you, if you do, for I know she wont let 
you go." "Well, then," said Benjamin, 
" I will not go." Benjamin did right. He 
honored his mother, and obeyed the Lord, 
who says, "If sinners entice thee, consent 
thou not." 

19. Another boy that honored his absent 
father. 

A boy about seven years old, was on a 
visit to a lady, who was very fond of him. 
Although a great way from home, yet he 



236 HONORING PARENTS. 

behaved very well, and tried to do every 
thing which he thought would have pleased 
his parents, if they had been there. One 
morning, at breakfast, there was some hot 
bread on the table, and it was handed to 
him ; but he would not take it. '^ Do you 
not like hot bread?" said the lady. ''^ Yes, 
ma'am," said he, I am very fond of it." 
^' Then, my dear, why do you not take 
some ? " '^ Because," said he, ^' my father 
does not wish to have me eat hot bread." 
^^ But," said the lady, ^'your father is a 
great way off. You may venture, I think, 
to indulge yourself for once." '' No," said 
the boy. '^I cannot disobey my father 
and mother. I must do what they have 
told me to do, though they are a" great way 
off. I would not touch the roll, though I 
were sure nobody would see me. /should 
know it, and that would be enough." Did 
this boy honor his father and mother '? Do 
you think he would have had as much 
pleasure in eating the hot bread, as he had 
in honoring his parents ? 



PROMPT OBEDIENCE. 237 

20, The boys who honored their absent moth- 
er^ contrasted with the one who dishonored 
his mother. 

Three little boys were playing at marbles. 
The eldest was a sour looking boy, about 
twelve years old. The others were broth- 
ers, and much younger than he. They 
were not surly and sour, like their compan- 
ion ; but both of them wore sweet, happy 
faces. A person who was passing by, was 
very much pleased with their appearance ; 
and could not help thinking how much 
happier they seemed to be than their com- 
panion. The town clock at this moment 
struck six, and the two younger boys in- 
stantly left their play, and the eldest one 
said, ^' Good-by, James ; we must go. It is 
six, and mother said we must come home 
then. Come, brother." ''No, no," said 
James, '' don't go till the game is finished." 
" Why !" said the other, '' mother told us 
to leave just as soon as the clock struck 
six, and we mustP He thought it very 
strange that James should try to persuade 



238 

him to dishonor his mother. ^^ Never 
mind;" said James, ^' she wont scold you, 
if you don't go just yet." ^^No, mother 
never scolds^ — but sheHl look sorry if we 
disobey, — and I must go nowJ^^ ^^ Don't 
be a fool!" said James; ''never care for 
her looks — /don't my mother's — you shanH 
go, Tommy, I won't let you." ''Good-by," 
said the little boys, and ran briskly down 
the street, and were soon out of sight. 
James gathered up his marbles, saying to 
himself, ''A little coward! I guess I 
wouldn't be so tied down to my mother's 
looks." 

What commandment would these boys 
have broken, if they had done as James 
wished 1 How did they honor their moth- 
er, when she was not there ? Did James 
honor his mother ? How did he dishonor 
her? If you honor your parents, truly in 
your heart, you will be just as careful to 
obey them when they are absent as when 
they see you. God has set your parents 
over you, and commanded you to honor 
them by minding what they sa)^, willingly 



LITTLE ANNE. 239 

and cheerfully, and from love. It is dis- 
honoring your parents, to speak or think 
lightly of their authority. And God sees 
you all the time, even when you are away 
from your parents ; and when you disobey 
and dishonor them, you disobey and dis- 
honor the great God that made you. 

21. Little Anne, who honored her sick 
mother. 

Little Anne said one day to her brothers 
and sisters, '^ Our mother is sick to-day, — 
you must not make any noise." Then she 
gave her little sister a book with pictures, 
to look at; and made a play-house of 
blocks in the corner, for Robert and James ; 
and when she saw them all busy and quiet, 
she went up to her mother's room, to see if 
she wanted any thing. Her mother was 
asleep ; and Anne took her Bible and sat 
down to read; so she watched by the bed- 
side a long time, till her mother awoke; 
only now and then she would go softly 
down stairs, to see if the little ones were 
good. The next morning. Anne's mother 



240 THE COLLIER BOY. 

was a great deal better ; and she put her 
arms around her httle girl's neck, and kissed 
her, and said she was very thankful to God 
that Anne had tried to be such a good girl. 
Anne honored her mother in her heart ; for 
she loved her very much ; and she honored 
her in her conduct, for she was very care- 
ful not to hurt her when she was sick. 
Some children take advantage, and behave 
ill, when their mothers are sick, because 
they are not able to make them mind. Do 
such children honor their mothers ? 

22. The collier boy^ who honored his mother. 

Coal is dug out of the mountains : and 
the people who dig it, work under ground. 
They dig a hole in the ground, and keep 
digging out the coal, till they make large 
rooms under ground. Some men and boys 
were at work in a coal mine in Newcastle, 
England, and the water burst in upon them, 
and drove them away into a corner of the 
pit ; and before the water could be drawn 
off, they were all dead. After the waters 
were drawn off, seven of the boys were 



THE COLLIER BOY. 241 

found by themselves. Among these was 
a pious boy, who used to comfort his moth- 
, er, who was a poor widow, by reading the 
Bible to her, when he came up from his 
work under ground. After his funeral, a 
friend went to visit her ; and she showed 
him her son's Bible, which was very much 
worn and soiled ; for he read it much every 
day. He saw, also, a candlebox which 
had been brought up from the pit with the 
boy. On that the boy had written, with a 
piece of iron, in the dark, these words : 
"Fret not, my dear mother; for we were 
singing and praising God while we had 
time. Mother, follow God more than ever 
I did. Joseph, be a good lad to God and 
mother." This poor boy honored his 
mother, to think and care for her in his 
suffering condition ; and in taking so much 
pains to send her a comforting message. 



21 



242 THE SHEPHEKD. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 

1. What a shepherd is. 

In the country where the men lived who 
v/rote the Bible, there were a great many 
sheep. The men who owned and took 
care of them were called shepherds. The 
sheep is a harmless animal; but very 
apt to wander away into places where it 
will be exposed to wild beasts. The shep- 
herds shut up their sheep sometimes in 
folds, where the wolves cannot get at them ; 
and sometimes they watch them all day 
and all night, to keep off the wolves, and 
prevent the sheep from going astray. The 
shepherd gives names to his sheep, and 
every one knows his name ; and they know 
the voice of the shepherd, and when he 
calls them, they will follow him. But if 
any body else should call them, they would 
not follow. The shepherd also puts a mark 



THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 243 

on all his sheep, so that, if any other shep- 
herd should find one of his sheep, and lead 
it away, he knows his mark, and can get 
his sheep back again. When the sheep 
stray away, the shepherd goes after them ; 
and often exposes his life among the wild 
beasts, through the care he has for his flock. 
But what do you think of the sheep that 
will stray away from the shepherd, when 
he takes such good care of them ? 

We are called sheep, because, like sheep, 
we wander away from God, to whom we 
belong. We have wandered far away from 
him, by disobeying his commandments, 
and choosing our own ways. But Jesus, 
who calls himself the Good Shepherd, has 
come into this world, to seek and to save his 
lost sheep ; and for us he has laid down his 
life. What do you think of those, who 
wander away and will not follow Jesus 
the Good Shepherd, when he has loved 
them so much as to give up his own life 
for them ? 



244 THE INDIAN BOY. 

2. The Indian hoy that wanted to be 'mark- 
. edfor one of Chrisfs lambs. 

Little children are called Christ's lambs ; 
and he puts his mark upon them. Mr. 
Eliot, a very good minister, who preached to 
the Indians a great many years ago, said 
one time when he baptized some children, 
that baptism was Christ's mark, which he 
ordered to be set upon his lambs ; and that 
it showed Christ's love to the children of 
his people, to set this mark upon them. An 
Indian boy, who heard this, went home and 
asked his father and mother to join the 
church, so that he might be marked for one 
of Christ's lambs, before he died. Not long 
after, his father and mother united with the 
church, and he was baptized. He was very 
glad that he was marked for one of Christ's 
lambs ; and told his father and mother that 
now he was willing to die. A little while 
after, he died ; and, as we suppose, the Good 
Shepherd took him to his great fold above. 
Dear children, do you want to be Christ's 
lambs ? Some of you have been baptized. 



THE DARK VALLEY. 245 

and have his mark upon you ; and it would 
be a dreadful thing for you to stray away 
and be lost. But if you give him your 
hearts now, and trust in him and love and 
obey him, he will keep you from wandering; 
and at last bring you home, to his heavenly 
fold. 

3. The little girl that ivanted her father or 
mother to go with her through the dark 
valley. 

The Bible calls death the valley of the 
shadow of death. A valley is often a dark 
and gloomy place ; and in that country 
were some frightful valleySj deep, dark, and 
dismal, filled with wild beasts and robbers ; 
and for that reason death is called ^^the 
valley of the shadow of death." 

A little girl, three or four years old, had 
been to infant school, where she had heard 
about the valley of the shadow of death. 
She was taken ill, and soon became so sick 
that they said she must die. She was very 
much affected, when she heard this; and 
turned to her mother and said ''Mother, 
2l# 



246 THE DARK VALLEY. 

will yon go with me through the valley of 
the shadow of death?" Her mother told 
her she could not go till God called her. 
Then she turned to her father and said, 
"Father, will you go with me 7'' Her 
father very kindly and affectionately told 
her he could not go till God sent for him. 
This grieved the little girl very much': and 
she turned her face to the wall, and cried. 
But in a little while she turned round, Avith 
a sweet smile on her countenance, and said, 
"I have found one to go with me. Jesus 
will go with me through the valley of 
the shadow of death.'' And so it is, dear 
children. Jesus will go with all who 
will put their trust in him through that 
dark and gloomy valley ; and he will show 
them the bright light beyond, so that the 
gloomy valley shall be turned into a pleasant 
passage to the land of light and glory. 



SIXTH COMMAND. 247 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 

1. The little girlj who killed another^ because 
she would not play with her. 

(See ch. xii, No. 13, p. 209.) 

2. The little boy who killed his brother. 

Two little boys were at play together, in 
Edenton, N. C. The one was nine or ten 
years old, and the other eleven. They 
were brothers, the sons of a widow. And 
"what do you suppose they were playing? 
It was a very wicked play, which makes a 
great many bad people. They were play- 
ing at cards. Wicked men play cards, and 
often get angry about the game, and kill 
one another. So these boys had not been 
playing long, before they began to dispute 
and quarrel. The elder boy contradicted 
the other, who told him if he did it again, 
he would shoot him. The elder one did 



248 EFFECTS OF ANGER. 

not suppose his brother really meant what 
he saidj and presently contradicted him 
again ; but the younger one ran into the 
house and got a gun, and came out and 
shot his brother through the head, so that 
he fell down dead ! See, dear children, 
how dangerous it is to be angry. I have 
no doubt this boy felt very sorry, when he 
saw that his brother was dead; but foolish 
anger led him to take his brother's life. 
What command did he break? What 
ought he to have done, when his brother 
contradicted him ? 

Sometime after, a gentleman saw this 
little boy, looking out of the window of a 
prison ; for he was shut up there, to be kept 
till he could be tried before the court, when, 
it was expected, he would be sentenced to 
be hung. It was in the cold winter, when 
the gentleman saw him. He was looking 
out of a little window, which had bars of 
iron put across it, to keep the prisoners from 
getting out. There was no fire in the 
prison. The floor was damp; he had only 
a blanket to cover himself with when he 



EFFECTS OF ANGER. 249 

lay down to sleep. There he lay, in that 
miserable place, all winter. 

3. The boy that killed his play-fellow. 

David Jones lived in Philadelphia. He 
was not generally a bad boy. He loved and 
obeyed his parents, studied his lessons and 
said his prayers, and kept out of bad com- 
pany. But he had one great fault, and you 
will see what it brought him to. He would 
get angry, and then he wanted to hurt the 
one he was angry with. What command 
did he break, when he felt so ? One day 
you might have seen his head thrown back, 
his lips pouting, his eyes flashing fire, and 
his fists clenched. And what was the 
matter 7 Ira Hart had knocked off* his hat. 
And what do you suppose David did ? He 
caught hold of a pair of dividers or com- 
passes, and threw them at Ira. The sharp 
points struck in Ira's eye, passed through 
into his brain, and Ira fell down dead ! O 
how David felt then ! He had committed 
murder. He knelt down by the side of Ira, 
put his hands on his breast, and cried. But 



250 QUARRELlNGo 

Ira was dead^ and no tears would bring him 
to life again. What ought David to have 
done, when Ira knocked off his hat T- 

4. Quarreling and fighting. 

Edward went out in the yard, .where 
he had been making a little garden, and 
found his little fence pulled up, and his 
beds all trodden down. He felt very bad, 
and began to cry. '' What are you crying 
for?" said James, a little boy that Edward 
used to play with. ^^If I knew who did 
it,'' said Edward, ^^ I would give it to him, 
indeed, I would." ^^ You would give it to 
him!" replied James. ^^You are a great 
fellow — then I did it, and if you do not give 
me that string, I'll do it again." '^ Then 
take that," said Edward, striking James 
with his fist, and then running to the place 
where James's kite was, and tearing it all 
to pieces. James cried and kicked Edward, 
and Edward struck James again ; and I do 
not know what they would have done to 
each other, if Edward's mother had not 



HEART-MURDER. 251 

seen them, and put a stop to the quarrel. 
What commandment did these boys break ? 
How did tbey break the sixth command- 
ment, when they did not kill each other? 
What ought James to have done, when Ed- 
ward got his string? And what should 
Edward have done, when he found James 
had spoiled his garden ? What would you 
dOj if a little boy should come along and 
strike you ? If you strike back again, of 
what will you be guilty ? 

5. Anger is murder, 

A little boy told a minister that he was 
sorry for his sin in breaking the sixth com- 
mandment, which says, *' Thou shalt do 
no murder." ^'How do you know," said 
the minister, ^^ that you have committed 
murder?" ^^Osir," said he, ''I was an- 
gry with my brother; and I read in the 
Bible, that whosoever hateth his brother is 
a murderer." 



252 GOOD FOR EVIL. 

6. Good for evil, 

A very little girl was fond of reading the 
Bible, and it was there she learned how to 
treat those that injure her. One day she 
came to her mother, very much delighted, 
to show some plums that a friend had giv- 
en her. The mother said, -'She is very 
kind. She has given you a great many.'' 
'^ Yes," said the little girl, ^'she is very 
kind indeed ; and she gave me more than 
these, but I have given some away." ^- Ah, 
my child; to whom did you give them?" 
^' I gave them to a girl who pushes me off 
the path, and makes faces at me." '^ But 
why did you give them to such a naughty 
girl?" *^ Because I thought that would 
make her know that I wished to be kind 
to her, and she will not perhaps be unkind 
and rude to me again." The Bible says we 
must overcome evil with good. That was 
what this little girl meant to do. And this 
is the way you ought to treat every one 
that injures you. If you do so, very like- 
ly they will become your friends, and nevey 



CRUELTY. 253 

treat you ill again ; but if you try to injure 
them in return, then they will seek to be 
revenged again, and perhaps the quarrel 
will end in murder. 

7. Cruelty, 

A gentleman was passing by a large 
house, and he heard shouting and swearing. 
He wanted to know what was the matter, 
and went to the place where the noise 
came from, and there he saw a well dressed 
boy in the midst of a crowd of ragged chil- 
dren. They were setting some dogs to 
worry a cat. All that stood round appeared 
pleased, and laughed aloud, when one of 
the dogs tore the cat, and made it bleed in 
a most shocking manner. The gentleman 
called to the well dressed boy, but he did 
not seem to hear, but went on with his sav- 
age sport, till the poor cat crawled away 
full of wounds. Then the gentleman in- 
quired of a young woman that stood by, 
who this boy was, that he might go and 
tell his friends of his behaviour. ^^ O," said 
she, ^4t is of no use. He is known for his 



254 A CRUEL COWARD. 

hard heart. His friends never try to break 
him of it. I have known him from a Uttle 
one, and he has always been so. Poor boy ! 
he may be rich, but he will never be be- 
loved ; and if he does not change his con- 
duct, he will never be fit for any thing but 
a butcher. When he could but just v/alk, 
his great delight was in killing flies and 
other insects. He kills frogs, hangs cats, 
and torments every thing within his reach. 
But, like most cruel people, he is a sad 
coward, afraid even of his own shadow, as 
it were." 

This boy has murder in his heart: and it 
is to be feared, if he grows up, he will come 
to a bad end. Cruelty to animals is a 
sign of a hard heart ; and the person who 
can take delight in giving pain to the dumb 
creatures, will very hkely be cruel and re- 
vengeful to his fellow-creatures ; and if he 
takes the life of animals for sport now, per- 
haps he will by-and-by take the life of 
some person, and be hung. 



KIND LITTLE GIRL. 255 

8. The kind Utile girl 

Adeline Woodly had a tender heart, and 
was very kind to animals. She never 
killed flies, or any other poor harmless in- 
sects. She was careful even not to tread 
on worms or beetles, when she saw them. 
She could not bear to give pain to any thing 
that had life and could feel. 

She was quite shocked, one summer even- 
ing, to see a little girl, who was playing 
with her, catch fire-flies and kill them for 
amusement. Adeline begged her not to do 
it, because it hurt the flies dreadfully to be 
killed. 

Adeline was very kind to the cats and the 
dogs, and the little doves and chickens; 
and she would never hurt any thing if she 
could help it. She was also very kind to 
her little friends, and they all loved her. 

9. Returning good for evil 

A little boy about six years old, went to 
school with his little sister, who was about 
four. W hile he was sitting by her in school. 



256 GOOD FOR EVIL. 

he doubled up his fist and struck her on 
her head. The Kttle girl doubled up her 
fist to strike back. But just then, her teach- 
er caught her eye, and said to her, ^^My 
dear, you better kiss him." In a moment, 
the little girl's feelings all changed. She 
threw her arms around her brother's neck, 
and began to kiss him. He began to cry, 
and the tears rolled down his cheeks. 
The little sister wiped them off, and tried 
to comfort him; but the more she kissed 
him, wiped his tears, and tried to comfort 
him, the harder he cried. A kiss for a blow. 
This is overcoming evil with good. And 
this is the way to keep from breaking the 
sixth commandment. 



: THE HEART. 257 

CHAPTER XVL 

THE NEW HEART. 

1. The little girl whose heart God changed. 

What is the heart? I will tell you. 
You love your mother ; and you feel some- 
thing in you that makes you glad when 
you can be with her. You sometimes get 
angry, and you feel very bad, and perhaps, 
want to strike the person you are angry 
with, which is very naughty. That with- 
in you which feels so, is your heart ; or, 
your heart is you yourself exercising these 
feelings. Your mother tells you that, if 
you will obey her, she will be pleased with 
you, and love you. But you choose to 
disobey her, and have your own way. Or, 
perhaps you choose to obey her ; which I 
hope you do ; and then you are happy. 
And here again, that within you which 
chooses, is your heart ; or, your heart is yon 
yourself thus choosing. All little children, 
22^- 



258 THE NEW HEART. 

as well as grown people, whose hearts have 
not been changed, have wicked hearts. 
They love what is bad and hate what is 
good. They choose the bad and refuse the 
good. The Lord Jesus says, we must be 
born again, or we can never go to heaven. 
To be born again, is to have our hearts 
changed, — to be renewed after the image 
of God, in which Adam was created, which 
image was lost when he sinned and fell ; 
it is to be created anew, so that, instead of 
loving and choosing what is wrong, we 
love and choose what is right. 

To show you what I mean, I will tell 
you about a very little girl, whose heart 
God changed. I have mentioned her or 
alluded to her several times before in these 
stories, but I want to tell you now about 
her being born again, or having a new 
heart. Her name was Phebe Bartlett. 
She lived in Northampton, Massachu- 
setts, nearly one hundred years ago. 
When she was four years old, her pious 
brother told her she had a wicked heart. 
This made her feel very bad ; and she 
went away alone and prayed. This she 



THE NEW HEART. 259 

did several times a day. Sometimes she 
prayed five or six times in a day. One 
day she told her mother that she could not 
find God. A little while after, her mother 
heard her praying in her closet very loud 
and very earnestly. She cried at the same 
time very hard ; for she saw how wicked 
and sinful she was, and it grieved her very 
much. She said a great deal, in her 
prayer, but all her mother could hear, was, 
'^ Pray, blessed Lord, give me salvation ! 
I pray, beg, pardon all my sins." When 
she had done praying, she came and sat 
down by her mother, and cried out aloud. 
Her mother asked her what was the mat- 
ter; but she cried more and more, and 
wrung her hands ; for she seemed indeed 
to see so much wickedness in her heart, 
that she could not stop crying till it was 
changed. While she was thus earnestly 
praying for salvation, God heard her, and 
had mercy on her. So he will hear you, 
if you do the same. In a little while, she 
stopped crying all at once, and began to 
smile, saying to her mother, ^'Mother, the 



260 THE NEW HEART. 

kingdom of heaven is come to me." After 
this she went to her closet again ; for she 
loved to speak with God now, and to call 
him her Father, and to thank Jesus for 
dying for her. When she came back to 
her mother, she said, ^^ I can find God now; 
and I love him better than any one else." 
After this, Phebe was a very different 
child ; for God had given her a new heart ; 
and the hearty or the moral state they are 
in, is what makes people good or bad. So 
I have told you elsewhere how different 
she was. She loved the Sabbath, and 
w-ould never play, nor talk in sport, and 
laugh, nor think foolish things, as many 
children do, on that holy day. She would 
long for the Sabbath to come, instead of 
being glad when it was passed, as some 
wicked children are. She was so anxious 
to have the Sabbath come, that she would 
inquire how long it was to the Sabbath, 
and have the days between counted over. 
She loved to go to meeting, as she said, ^' to 
hear the mmister preach;" and when she 
was there, she was very attentive to what 



THE NEW HEART. 261 

the minister said. She would be still at 
family prayers, when the Bible was read ; 
and when her father prayed, she would 
pray after him in her heart. She was also 
very fond of hearing ministers and other 
good people talk about religion. One day 
when some ministers had been at her fa- 
ther's house, she looked wishfully after 
them, and said, ^^ I wish they would come 
again." '^ Why ?" said her mother. ^' Be- 
cause," said little Phebe, ^'I love to hear 
them talk." 

2. The little gii^l that prayed for a new 
heart, 

A little girl was asked by her sister, one 
evening, if she had said her prayers. She 
said she had. *'What, then, have you 
been praying for?" said her sister. She 
told her sister some of the things she had 
been praying for, who inquired, ^^ Did you 
pray for nothing else?" ^' O yes," the lit- 
tle girl replied, '^I prayed for a new heart." 
'^A new heart !" said her sister; ^' I fear, 
my love, you do not know what you are 



262 THE HARD HEART. 

talking about. What do you mean by a 
new heart?" ^' I mean," said the Uttle girl, 
^^a better and different one than I now 
have ; one which will make me love Jesus 
Christ." 

3. The hard heart, 

A girl about twelve years old, had 
been very amiable and well-behaved ; but 
she had never had any concern about her 
soul. Her teacher told her that she had a 
very hard heart ; and that it had been grow- 
ing harder every day of her life. This 
affected her very much; and she went 
home, thinking to herself, ^'If my heart 
has been growing harder every day of my 
life, how very hard it must be, by this 
time, now I am twelve years old," A 
hard heart is a heart that is not affected 
by serious things, and things about God. 
And that is indeed a very hard heart that 
will not feel, in view of the love of Jesus, 
who loved us so much that he died for us. 
But the girl I was telling you of, felt so 
bad about her hard heart, that she fell on 



HEART CHANGED. 263 

her knees and prayed very earnestly to 
God to take away her hard heart, and give 
her a new good heart. Very soon, her 
heart was broken, and she was happy in 
the Lord. Jesus, the Saviour, appeared 
very lovely to her; and she took delight in 
trusting in him. 

4. The little hoy lohose naughty heart was 
changed, 

Alfred's mother told him how wicked his 
heart was, and he felt very bad. He went 
into his own room, and knelt down. But 
he felt so bad about his wicked heart, that 
he could not speak for some time, By-and- 
by, when he could speak, he prayed that 
God would take away his wicked heart, 
and give him his Holy Spirit, not for his 
sake, but for the sake of Jesus. So he en- 
treated and supplicated God for mercy, and 
confessed his sins. After some time he 
began to feel differently. Then he had 
such a pleasant feeling of heart, he thought 
now he could love Jesus, and that Jesus 
Iqved him, and that he would keep hira 



264 THE NEW HEART. 

from returning to impenitence and sin 
again. Little Alfred felt very happy ; and 
now he loved everj^ body and felt very 
differently from what he ever did before. 

5. Effect of a new heart 

There were two little brothers, one ten 
years old, and the other, eight. The elder 
indulged the hope that God had given him 
a new heart. He thought he was a Chris- 
tian, and that he loved and trusted in the 
Saviour. Bat the younger did not believe 
that his brother's heart had been changed. 
He thought his brother was no more of a 
Christian than he had always been. He 
said he could not see much difference in 
him. Yet, he was more sober, and loved 
to go to meeting better than he used to ; 
so that, he did not feel quite certain that he 
was not a Christian. So he thought he 
would try him. He knew his brother used 
to get angry very easily ; and when he was 
injured, he would seek revenge. There- 
fore he thought he would try his temper, 
and see if it was changed. So, every 



ITS EFFECTS. 265 

chance he could get, he would tread on his 
brother's toes, kick his heels, or pinch his 
arms, to see if he would not get angry as 
he used to. But the elder brother bore it 
all in meekness, without once getting angry. 
The other was quite sure he could not do 
so ; for he could not help being angry, if 
any body should treat him half so bad. 
He soon became convinced that his brother 
was a Christian, and that he was not. He 
thought his brother had a new heart, and 
that he would go to heaven ; but he knew 
his own heart was wicked, and that if he 
died he must be lost. He became very 
anxious about his own salvation, and soon 
was indulging the hope that God had given 
him a new heart. 

From this story, dear children, you learn 
the effect of having a new heart. Before 
this boy's heart was changed, he had a bad 
temper, and would get angry and be ready 
to fight with every one that offended him ; 
but now he was meek and inoffensive, and 
as good-natured and peaceable as a lamb. 
23 



266 A SENSE OF SIN. 

6. Two young girls. 

(See Ch. iii, No. 3, p. 33.) 

7. Samuel Wyke Kilpin. 

(See Ch. iii, No. 4, p. 35.) 

8. The Indian that thought the mission ary 
lied, 

(See Ch. iii, No. 5, p. 38.) 

9. What it is to be cleansed, 

(See Ch. iii, No. 1, p. 27.) 



COVETING. 267 



CHAPTER XVII. 

COVETING AND STEALING. 

Eighth Commandment Thou shalt not steal. 
Ninth Comwxmdment Thou shalt not covet. 

1. The little girl that loould not covet. 

A little girl, about five years old, who 
went to Infant School, speaking of another 
child of the same age, said, ^^ Charlotte has 
' got a pair of new shoes ; they are blue, and 
very handsome." Then, stopping a min- 
ute, with her eyes fixed on the floor, she 
added, ^^ but I must not covet." I suppose, 
when she said this, she was beginning to 
feel as if she wished very much to have 
Charlotte's new shoes ; and if she had in- 
dulged that feeling, it would have been 
coveting. 



268 HONEST BOY. 

2. The honest little hoy, 

A gentleman asked little Otis Chamber- 
lain to run of an errand for him^ and told 
him that he would give him two cents. 
Otis ran and did the errand, and put the 
two cents in his pocket ; but after he came 
home, he found a piece of silver between 
the two cents, which he knew the gentle- 
man gave him by mistake. A younger 
brother, who could not speak plain, seemed 
wonderfully pleased, and cried out, ^^ Teep 
it, Otis ! Teep it, Otis ! the man wont know 
it." '^ No ;" said Otis, ^^ the man meant to 
give me two cents, not a piece of silver and 
two cents, and I shall carry it back." So 
away he ran to give it to the gentleman. 
Otis was an honest boy ; but if he had kept 
the piece of silver, he would have been a 
thief at heart ; for it did not belong to him. 

3. The little hoy that would not steal, ^ 

A little boy belonging to an Infant School, 
playing with some blocks, had not enough 
to build his house. His mother told him 



HONEST GIRL. 269 

to go into a carpenter's shop, that was near 
by, and get some. But he said, ^'No, 
mother, the carpenter is not there." ^^No 
matter," said his mother, ''he wont care 
for a few blocks." '' O no," said the child, 
''it would be stealing; God would see me, 
and be displeased. I had rather not have 
them." This little boy's mother did very 
wrong to tell him to steal ; and if he had 
done as she said, it is to be feared that he 
would have come to some bad end; for 
stealing generally begins with little things ; 
and taking little things almost always leads 
to greater, and finally to ruin. But he 
thought he would rather be an honest boy, 
and have the favor of God, than to gratify 
himself with stolen play-things. 

4. The honest little girl 

A gentleman from the country walking 
through Broadway, in the city of New- 
York, in taking out his handkerchief, drop- 
ped his pocket-book and went on without 
knowing it. Presently, he felt some one 
puUing his coat, and calling, "Stop, sir! 
23* 



270 HONESTY IN 

stop ! here is something you dropped." 
He saw a httle girl eight or nine years old, 
holding in her hand his pocket-book, in 
which there were several hundred dollars ; 
and she had run after him with it, till she 
was almost out of breath. This little girl 
was honest. She did not want any thing 
that did not belong to her. The gentle- 
man made her a handsome present for 
being so kind as to run after him with his 
pocket-book. Besides, she was much hap- 
pier, when she thought of what she had 
done, than she would have been if she had 
kept the pocket-book ; for then she would 
always have felt guilty. 

5. Honesty in little things. 

Some children think it is no harm to take 
little things^ which belong to others, be- 
cause they are not worth much. But it 
is steahng to take Httle things, just as 
much as to take great things. Matilda and 
Thomas were looking out of the window, 
into the garden, when Thomas said, ''See 
how that bough of Mr. Cole's apple tree 



LITTLE THINGS. 271 

hangs over our garden wall; when the 
fruit gets ripe, and the high winds blow, 
we shall have some of the apples." ^'In- 
deed, you will not," replied his sister, ^^for 
they will not be ours; and you must be 
honest, even in little things. You mus:t not 
covet what doesn ot belong to you." ^' O, 
then," said Thomas (his eyes brightening 
as bespoke), ^^ we will throw them over 
the wall again, and he will be sure to find 
them." Dear children, what command- 
ment did little Thomas break, when he 
thought he would have the apples that fell 
into his father's yard ? He broke the tenth 
commandment ; for he coveted his neigh- 
bor's apples ; but he did well to give up 
the idea of stealing them. 

6. The man that forgot to look up, 

" Thou God seest me." (See ch. ii, No. 4, p. 21.) 

7. Stealing from mother. 

" Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no 
transgression ; the same is the companion of a destroyer.'* Pr. 
28 : 24. 

(Sed ch. iii, No. 15, p. 224.) 



272 BECAUSE IT WAS SIN. 

8. The little girl that took plums and was 
sorry '^ because it was sin.^^ 

" Against thee, thee only have I sinned." Ps. 51 : 4. 

Little Phebe Bartlett, whom I have al- 
hided to so often, went one day, with some 
larger children, into a neighbor's orchard, 
to get some plums ; but when she brought 
home some of them, her mother told her 
she must not get them without leave, be- 
cause it was sin. Phebe burst into tears, 
and said, ^'I wont have these plums, — Eu- 
nice, why did you ask me to go to that plum 
tree ? I should not have gone, if you had 
not asked me." Phebe was so much dis- 
tressed about what she had done, that her 
mother sent and asked leave of the owner 
for her to have the plums. This quieted 
her a little ; but she soon began to cry again, 
most bitterly. Her mother asked her what 
made her cry, now they had asked leave. 
Phebe said it was '^because it was sin.^^ 
She did not think, as children are apt to 
do, that it Avas no great matter, because it 
was a little thing. She knew it was sin- 



MANY SINS IN ONE. 273 

ning against God, and breaking his holy 
commandmentj as much as if she had taken 
some great thing ; and she was very sorry, 
because she had sinned against God. She 
cried a great while, and said she would not 
go again, if Eunice should ask her a hun- 
dred times: and she would not eat any 
plums for a long time ; for, when she saw 
them, she thought of her sin in taking them 
without leave, and that troubled her very 
much. This was repentance. She was 
sorry, because she had sifined against God ; 
and this made her hate even the appear- 
ance of her sin. She was sorry for it, and 
did so no more. 

9. Many sins in one, 

" Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and offend in one 
point, he is guilty of all." Ja. 2 : 10, 

A little boy going along the street, with 
his sister, stopped and took something 
which he saw in the window of a shop, 
and carried it home. His parents asked 
him where he got it; and he said he picked 
it up in the street. But his little sister told 



274 MANY SINS IN ONE. 

the truth, and said he took it from the shop 
window, yet he denied it, and said again 
he picked it up on the ground. After- 
wards, he confessed the truth, and said he 
was very sorry for what he had done. 
Now, dear children, how many sins did 
this httle boy commit in doing as he did ? 
How many commandments did he break ? 
In the first place, when he saw the thing 
in the window, and wanted it so much as 
to wish to take it from the owner, he 
coveted it, — he broke the tenth command- 
ment ; when he took it, he broke the 
eighth, which says, ^^ Thou shalt not steal." 
Then, he told a lie to hide it ; and accused 
his sister of lying, which was bearing false 
witness against her. Thus he broke the 
ninth commandment. And in all of it, he 
dishonored his parents, breaking the fifth 
commandment. So that, by taking a little 
thing of very little value, from the window 
of a shop, he was led to break four of God's 
holy commandments. So it is always ; 
one sin leads to another, and often to many 
others. 



END OF STEALING. 275 

10. The end of stealing, 

A very little boy used to take things that 
were not his own, and let nobody know it. 
He continued to do so, as he grew older. 
When he was quite young, he was sent 
away from home to a boarding school. He 
carried with him a disposition to take 
what was not his own. One day, he 
opened the drawer of one of his school 
mates, and saw two small pieces of money. 
While he looked upon the silver as it glis- 
tened, he thought about taking it. He 
coveted it in his heart, and thus broke the 
tenth commandment. Another boy told 
him that, if he would take one, he would 
take the other. When the money was 
missed, they both denied having taken it. 
Here you see they tried to cover up one 
sin, by committing another. What com- 
mandment did they break by this? But 
the other boy felt so bad in his mind that 
he could not keep this covering on his sin, 
which he had made from a lie. He con- 
fessed it to his teacher, and was so sorry 



276 END OF STEALING. 

that he did not steal again. He repented. 
The other boy, however, had a very hard 
heart. He would not confess his sin ; but 
ran away from school, to get rid of punish- 
ment. He traveled nearly all night in the 
dark and alone. When it was almost 
morning, he crept into a barn, and slept on 
the hay. When he got up, he kept going 
on, till he came to a large city, where he 
knew nobody, and nobody knew him. He 
could hardly get any thing to eat, or any 
place to sleep. He loved sin, and so he 
sought the company of sinners. He soon 
found a bad boy, who had run away from 
his good mother and been to sea. The boy 
asked him to join with him in stealing. 
He was pleased with the offer and agreed 
to it. But pretty soon he was found out, 
and an officer caught him and put him in 
jail. After lying in jail some time, he was 
brought before the court. The jury said 
he was guilty, and the judge sentenced 
him to the state prison. So they put irons 
on his hands and feet, to keep him from 
running away, and sent him to the prison. 



THE PRISON. 277 

There, he did not fare as he used to at 
home and at the boarding school. He had 
to rise early in the morning, and work hard 
all day; and his food was very coarse. 
He had no such nice things as he had 
when he was at home ; and he was not 
allowed to play at all. He ate and slept 
alone, in a little room, not much bigger 
than a closet. He had no table or chair in 
his room. There was no fire in it, and he 
made his bed of straw. There he had to 
stay a long, long time ; and when he looked 
back and thought of his conduct he felt 
very bad, and sent word to the children to 
take warning from him, and not steal. 



94 



278 REPENTANCE. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

REPENTANCE. \ 

" Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out." ] 

1. The little girl, that was very sorry, be- \ 

cause she had sinned. I 

(See ch. xvii, No. 18, p. 272.) 

2. Little Sarah, who told a lie and repented, , 

(See ch. vi, No. 6, p. 98.) ^ 

3. The little boy that got angry and said a \ 

bad word and repented, j 

(See ch. x. No. 1, p. 146.) \ 

4. The little boy that dishonored his mother, 

and repented. \ 

(See ch. xiii. No. 17, p. 230.) 

5. Do not delay repentance. 

(See ch. xii, No. 12, p. 208.) I 

A minister urged a young lady to repent ; ' 
but she laughed him in the face. Some ; 
months after, she died. On the morning ; 



TOO LATE. 279 

of the day that she died, she was told that 
she must die. Her friends stood weeping 
around her, and she asked them to pray- 
that she might Uve ten years. She was 
told that she must die soon. She replied, 
^^Pray that I may live one day." Her 
friends told her that she was struck with 
death. She then said, ^^ Pray that I may 
live one hour, that I may repent." They 
told her that she was just going. She then 
said, ^^Pray that I may live one minute," 
and died. Would you like to die so? 
Then repent now. 



280 LYING. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

LYING. 

1. The boy that did not tell the whole truth, 

^^ Mother, said Frederic, ^^ can't I have 
two apples this evening? — Charles had four 
to-day, and would not give me one." 

^^I did not think Charles could be so 
selfish," said his mother. ^' Where did he 
get them?" 

^' One of the hoys at school gave them to 
him. He had four. Can't I have two ? " 

When Charles came in, his mother asked 
him how he could be so selfish and ungen- 
erous as not to give his brother a part of 
his apples, when he had so many. Charles 
said he offered his brother as much as he 
had himself, but he would not take it. 

^'Yes," said Frederic, '^you offered me 
half of one out of four." 

^'I should certainly think, Charles," said 
the mother, '' you might have given your 



DECEIVING. 281 

brother a whole apple at least. You may 
go without any this evening, and he shall 
have yours." 

^^Now, mother," said Charles, ^^I will 
tell you just how it was. You know our 
teacher took us to walk. One of the boys 
bought some apples, and gave me four. I 
gave one to our teacher ; one to a boy who 
had given me a piece of cake ; I could do 
no less than give one to the boy who walked 
with me ; and I offered Frederic half of 
the one I had left." 

The mother of the boys said that Charles 
had acted very properly and generously ; 
and she reproved Frederic for telling such 
a one-sided story ; and to punish him, she 
did not give him the apple he was to have 
had. 

Now, dear children can you tell me what 
sin Frederic committed ? He did not say 
any thing that was not true ; for a boy had 
given Charles four apples, and he had not 
given so much as one to Frederic. But by 
keeping back part, and not telling the whole 
truth, he made it appear very different from 
2i^ 



282 THE INDIAN BOY. 

what it was ; so that his mother thought 
Charles had behaved in a selfish and 
niggardly manner, when he had been very- 
generous. Did Frederic bear false witness 
against his brother? What other com- 
mandment did he break besides the ninth ? 

2. Sporting lies. 

Some children think they may tell what 
is not true, if they only say it in fun^ and 
do not mean any harm by it. But that is 
not correct. God hates lying lips ; and to 
tell lies for sport or at play, is making sport 
with sin. One day, when Martha was 
playing with the children, she had a little 
white stone, and she thought she would 
have some fine sport with it. So she told 
the children it was loaf sugar. But as 
soon as she had said it, she began to cry, 
and turned from the children and ran into 
the house, feeling very bad. Her mother 
caught her up and said, ^^My dear child 
what is the matter?'' '^O, mother,'' said 
she, sobbing and crying as though her heart 
would break, *^ I've told a lie. Do hide me 



LITTLE LIES. 283 

where God wont see me. Just as soon as 
I told the He, God looked right at me, and 
I'm afraid. Mother, do hide me ! do hide 
me!" 

This little girl had been taught that God 
sees us at all times; and her conscience 
told her that she had sinned against him ; 
though she only did what many children 
do every day, without thinking that they 
are doing any thing very wicked. But in 
the sight of God, there are no little sins ; 
and if children could see God looking right 
at them, as he always is, I think they 
would not tell falsehoods for sport. It is 
wicked ; and if they do it, they will grow 
careless about speaking the truth, in other 
things ; so that soon, they will think noth- 
ing of telling great lies. 

3. Telling what is not triie^ by mistake^ is 
not lying. 

'' Nancy," said Mr. Daniels to his little 
daughter, '' did you say that William gave 
you this book, which I did not wish you to 
have?" ''Yes, sir," said the little girl, 



284 A MISTAKE. 

pleasantly. ^^ I thought you said so/' said 
Mr. Daniels; ''but William denies it, and 
saj's he has not had the book in his hand 
this morning. Do you remember right? 
Are you certain that you did not take it 
from the table yourself, or that some other 
person did not give it to you?" Little 
Nancy bkished, and was almost ready to 
cry, for she saw that her father was afraid 
she had done wrong. Still she looked sin- 
cere and innocent ; for she really thought 
her brother William had given her the 
book. Though the book was not injured, 
she could not bear that her dear father 
should think she had told a falsehood. So 
she said, ''1 am very sure, sir, that Wil- 
liam gave it to me. I was sitting there, in 
my little chair, and William stood behind 
me. We were talking very busily, and he 
reached his hand over my shoulder, and 
held out the book; so, when I saw it, I 
took it into my hand." So the case stood. 
William was very positive that he had not 
taken the book. He had seen it lying on 
the table. He had afterwards seen Charles 



THE EXPLANATION. 285 

reading in it on the other side of the room ; 
and, at last, he saw Nancy have it, and 
told his father. But he had not touched it 
himself. The whole affair seemed very 
strange and mysterious. Mr. Daniels felt 
bad, because he thought one of his children 
had told a lie ; and Nancy felt very bad too, 
because she knew that she was suspected 
of telling a lie. 

But Mr. Daniels thought he would call 
Charles, and see if he could not explain the 
matter. So he called him, and asked him 
if he knew who gave the book to Nancy. 
''Yes, father," said Charles, '^7 gave it to 
her.^' *' There," said William, '' I thought 
so, though I did not see you do it." '^ No," 
said Nancy, '^I don't remember your 
giving it to me ; was it not William, 
brother Charles'?" ''No," said Charles, 
" it was I, and I can tell you all about it. 
You were sitting right down there, in your 
little chair, and had your doll in your lap. 
William was standing up behind you, and 
had his grammar book in his hand, but he 
was talking more than studying. I had 



286 LIARS NEVER 

the book, and was reading there by the 
window ; but I came np here to your chair, 
by the side of WilUam, and we were all 
talking together. By-and-by, I put my 
arm over your shoulder, 7*^/5^ 50, and had 
the book in my hand ; you took hold of it 
and I let it go, and I suppose you did not 
know I was so near." ^^ That appears 
probable, Charles," said Mr. Daniels, ^^ but, 
Nancy, what do you think about it now?" 
'^I suppose it was Charles," said she, ^'but 
I did not mean to tell a lie; I thought it 
was William." Now, dear children, what 
do you think about it ? Did Nancy tell a 
lie or not? Some of you, I suppose, will 
think she did, and some will think she did 
not. If you think she did, you must give 
some reason for thinking so ; for she did not 
mean to tell a lie. If you think she did 
not, you must give a reason : for she told 
what Avas not true. 

4. A liar will not be believed^ lohen he tells 
tlte truth. 

A child came running to the school teach- 
er's door, about dark, and saying, '^ Have 



BELIEVED. 287 

you seen any thing of Harry 7 He has not 
been home since school, and we cannot find 
him in the village." The fact was, the 
teacher had dismissed little Harry, at the 
usual hour, and sent a girl to go with him 
across the bridge, which lay over a pond 
of deep water; telling him at the same 
time to hasten home, for his parents were 
away, and had requested the teacher to 
see that he did not loiter about the bridge. 
Harry went to his father's gate; but when 
he got there, he recollected that he had 
left his ball by the side of the bridge ; and 
he told a little boy that was with him that 
he should go back and get it. The boy 
went with him. This little boy, presently, 
went to some men who were at work a 
little way off, and told them that Harry 
laid down upon the edge of the bridge, and 
tumbled over into the water. But he was 
a child that told lies, and no one believed 
what he said. ^^O," said they, ^4t is only 
one of John's lies." So they did not mind 
any thing about it; and no one went to 
take little Harry out of the pond. He 



288 HARRY DROWNED. 

floated over the danij and lodged in some 
brush and wood, in the edge of the water. 
All night, the water was searched ; but he 
could not be found till daylight, when they 
saw his little hand in the water. They took 
him out ; but it was a pitiful sight. It was 
Sabbath morning, and his father, who was a 
minister, had gone away to preach. The 
children of the Sabbath school gathered 
round and wept much. When his parents 
came home, it was found that he had been 
forbidden to go to the pond to play. So, 
you see, disobedience got him into the pond, 
and lying prevented him from being taken 
out. If he had obeyed, he would not have 
gone to the pond ; but after he fell into the 
water, he might have been saved, if the 
boy who was with him had not been a 
liar. This boy had been in the habit of 
telling strange things, to frighten people, 
till no one paid any attention to what he 
said. So it will be with you, if you tell 
lies; nobody will believe you, when you 
speak the truth; and you see what sad 
consequences may follow, if nobody can 
believe what you say. 



ALWAYS BELIEVED. 289 

5. The little girl^ whose word was always 
believed. 

Sophia was a very pretty little girl, of 
a mild disposition, and a cheerful counte- 
nance ; and she was very much beloved by 
her parents, and by all who knew her. 
One day her father said to her, ^'My 
dear Sophia, always guard against telling 
falsehoods, and we shall always love you 
as much as we do now. When we do 
wrong, it is much more noble to confess 
our faults, than to try to conceal them by 
telling what is not true. A falsehood only 
makes the fault greater ; and it is generally 
found out, and then the liar is despised by 
everybody." '^O, my dear father," said 
Sophia, ^^I will try never to do any thing 
wrong ; but if I do, I will never tell a false- 
hood to excuse myself." 

A few days after this, Sophia went to 
visit some of her companions in the neigh- 
borhood ; but before she went, her mother 
told her she must come home before seven 
o'clock. Sophia promised to obey; and 
25 



290 TELL THE TRUTH. 

she meant to mind her mother; but the 
time passed away so rapidly that it was 
nine o'clock before she thought of it ; and 
I do not know as she would have thought 
of it then, if her mother had not sent a ser- 
vant after her. When Sophia knew it was 
so late, she began to cry, because she had 
not minded her mother. Mary, the servant 
girl, told her it was foolish to cry; and 
that she could tell her mother that her 
playmates had made her stay ; or, that she 
might excuse herself in some other way. 
'' No, Mary," said Sophia, '' I will tell the 
truth ; and if my mother is displeased with 
me, I will tell her that I am very sorry, 
and ask her to forgive me." Sophia's 
mother was a little displeased at first ; but 
when she heard her frankly confess her 
fault, and ask pardon, she embraced and 
forgave her. 

Not long after, Mary broke a China cup, 
and to save herself from being blamed, she 
said Sophia broke it. When Sophia was 
called before her mother, she said, •' My 
dear mother, if I were guilty, I should not 



ALWAYS BELIEVED. 291 

be afraid to confess it ; for I am very sure 
you would not be half so much displeased 
with me for having broken the China cup, 
as you would if I should tell a lie." Mary 
still said it was broken by Sophia, till 
another servant was called, who told how 
it was. Mary was then sent away in dis- 
grace; and after this Sophia's word was 
never disputed. She had only to say a 
thing was so, and all believed it as much 
as if they had seen it with their own eyes. 
So, dear children, you see it is always best in 
the end to tell the truth. How much you 
gain, by having such a character for truth 
that nobody will doubt what you say ! 

6. Liars are foolish and unhappy, 

(See ch. vi, No. 6, p. 98.) 

I will tell you another story, which shows 
not only that liars are very unhappy ; but 
that it is very foolish to tell lies to hide 
your faults ; for, when you have told one 
lie, to hide a fault, you must keep on and 
tell another and another to hide the first, 



292 



LIARS UNHAPPY. 



and so on. A boy had been idle, and did 
not know his lesson, when he was called 
upon by his teacher to say it. So he told 
a falsehood, to excuse himself. Then to 
keep up the deception, he had to tell two 
more falsehoods ; but was obliged at last 
to tell the truth to his father. He had gone 
home from school; but after his confes- 
sion to his father, with a heavy heart, he 
took up his books, and went to school. His 
eyes were red with crying, and he looked 
very unhappy. His school-fellows tried to 
make him play ; but he would not. After 
school, he was hurrying away, when his 
teacher stepped up to him, and kindly asked 
him what was the matter. ^^ O, do not ask 
me ! do not ask me ! " said Alfred ; and he 
hurried off. At dinner, no one spoke. His 
father looked very sad, and his mother's 
eyes were red, as though she had been weep- 
ing. ^'I can bear this no longer," said 
Alfred to himself; and after dinner, he fol- 
lowed his father to his study, and said, ^^ O 
father, my dear father, do forgive me ! 
Only smile upon me once more, and I nev- 



CONFESS THE TRUTH. 293 

er, never, will tell another lie. Can you not 
forgive me. I cannot bear to see you and 
mother looking so sorrowful." 

Alfred's father told him that he had lost 
the smile of a kinder father and better 
friend than himself, and told him to seek 
forgiveness of God ; at the same time, cau- 
tioning him not to trust in his own resolu- 
tions, but to look to God for strength. Now, 
dear children, would it not have been nmch 
better, if Alfred had told the truth in the 
first place? How much less he would 
have suffered from the displeasure of his 
teacher, than he did from the frown of his 
heavenly Father and his earthly parents, 
and from the stings of a guilty conscience. 

7. When a person is in faulty he will aU 
loays fare the better to tell the truth 

A pane of glass was broken in the Boyls- 
ton school house, Boston. The teacher 
requested that the boy who had done it 
should rise in his place, and tell how he 
did it. A boy very honestly rose, and said 
he had done it, and told how it was done. 
25^ 



294 GEORGE WASHINGTON. 

His father sent word that he would pay for 
the glass; but the school-committee said 
that, where a boy had so manfully ac- 
knowledged the fact, the city would most 
cheerfully make good the damage. 

When Gen. Washington was about six 
years old, some one gave him a little 
hatchet, with which he was greatly de- 
lighted, and went about chopping every 
thing he met with. At length, he came to 
a fine cherry tree, which his father had 
cultivated with much care, and what 
should he do in his thoughtlessness but try 
his hatchet upon that ! When his father 
saw the mischief that Avas done to the tree, 
he inquired very earnestly who had done 
it; but no one could tell. Presently 
George came in with his hatchet ; and his 
father said to him, sternly, '' George, some 
one has been cutting my best young cherry 
tree, so that it will die. I would not have 
taken twenty dollars for it. Do you know 
who has done the mischief?" George 
answered frankly, and said, ''I am sorry, 
sir, but I will not tell a lie. I cut it with 



295 

my hatchet." His father was so much 
pleased with George's determination to 
speak the truth, that he freely forgave him. 
This disposition in his son, he said, was 
better than a thousand trees, with blossoms 
of silver, and fruit of pure gold. 

8. A good example. 

In Constantinople, where missionaries 
have gone, two girls have learned to read 
the Bible ; and every night and morning, 
they read a chapter, and pray together. 
One day, when the father of these girls 
was at home, a person rapped at the door 
whom he did not wish to see. He told his 
eldest daughter to go and tell the person 
that he was not at home. ^^ But, papa," 
said the daughter, ^' that would be telling 
a lie." '^What, then?" said the father, 
^4t is a very little thing. You have only 
to say that I am not at home." ^"^But, 
papa," she replied, '^the Bible says it is 
wicked to tell lies, and I cannot tell a lie." 
He was very angry, and called his other 
daughter, and told her to go and do what 



296 

the other had refused to do. ^^Papa, I 
can't,'' said she, '^for it is wicked to he." 

A man called upon an Armenian priest, 
at Constantinople, to borrow something; 
and the priest told his boy to go and tell 
the man that he had no such thing as the 
man wanted to borrow ; for he did not 
want to lend it. ^'But we have it," s-aid 
the boy, ^'for there it is/' pointing to it. 
^^ I know it," said the priest, '^ but do you 
go and tell him that we have it not." '^I 
cannot," replied the boy, ^^ for that would 
be telling a lie." 

Did these children do right ? God has 
commanded children to obey their parents, 
and forbidden them to lie. These parents 
commanded their children to lie. Did the 
children do right, when they refused to 
obey? 

9. The little girl that told a lie^ and repented, 

(See ch vi, No. 6, p.98.) 



THE GOLDEN RULE. 297 



CHAPTER XX. 



THE GOLDEN RULE. 

" All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto 
you, do ye even the same to them." 

1. The hungry boy that gave the biggest 
piece to his brother, 

(See ch. v, No. 1, p. 57 — so much as relates to the generous 
conduct of the eldest boy.) 

2. Three examples. 

Three boys at school had each a large 
plum cake sent them ; and they were all 
very glad. ^^ I ! O ! " said William to him- 
self, ^' I'll have a good time of it. Nobody 
shall have any of my cake but myself, no, 
not a plum of it." So he went away by 
himself, and sat down, and ate of it till he 
could eat no longer. This made him sick, 
and set him against plum cake for a whole 
month after. He gave the rest aAvay, 
indeed ; but every body knew it was only 



298 THE LITTLE MISER. 

because he could not eat it himself. Wil- 
liam was selfish and greedy. 

Edward acted very differently. ^^ How 
foolish brother William is," said he, ^' to 
cram himself with his cake all at once. 
Now, all his pleasure is gone, and mine is 
to come. I know better what to do. I'll 
make my pleasure last longer." So he went 
and locked it up in his box, and would not 
even taste of it. Day after day, and week 
after week passed away, and he neither 
ate any of it himself, nor gave any of it 
away. But at last he found it had grown 
so mouldy that he had to throw it away ; 
and it made his box smell so bad that he 
could not bear to open it. Edward was 
selfish and stingy. He was a little miser. 

But George was a fine, generous, open- 
hearted boy. As soon as he got his cake, 
he carried it to his teacher, and said, ^^ Will 
you oblige me, sir, by taking a slice of this 
cake?" George then cut off a handsome 
slice, and divided it among his school- 
fellows. He then took a slice himself, 
which he ate with far more pleasure, sur- 



SELFISHNESS. 299 

rounded by his happy companionSj than 
William could enjoy in the gratification of 
his greedy appetite alone, or than Edward 
could receive from hoarding up his treasure 
in his box. Which of these boys obeyed 
the golden rule 7 

3. Selfishness and generosity. 

George Saunders was a very selfish boy. 
He did not care whether his brothers and 
sisters, or any body else, were gratified, if 
he could only do as he liked, and have 
what he wanted for himself His mother 
came into the room one day, bringing an 
apple a-piece for George and his little broth- 
er and sister. George took the apple eager- 
ly from his mother ; but looking at those 
given to the other children, he cried out, 
«' Why, mother, Jane's is bigger than mine 
— you have given me the very smallest of 
all." If George had loved his neighbor as 
himself, do you think he would have said 
that? But his sister was a generous-heart- 
ed little girl, and she said, in a mild, pleas- 
ant tone, ^^ Here, George, I will change 



300 SELFISHNESS. 

with you." /^But stop," said George, 
^' let me see which is the best;" and he 
took a large mouthful from his own, and 
then tried Jane's. ^' Yours is the largest, 
but mine is the sweetest," said he, ^^so you 
must let me keep a piece of mine into the 
bargain." Do you think George would 
have been pleased if his sister had served 
him so ? Did he obey the golden rule ? A 
generous, noble-minded child would not 
have done such a thing for all the apples 
in the world. But George always behaved 
in the same selfish manner, He never did 
to others as he would like to have them do 
to him. When he went to school, he 
would always get a good place to hang his 
hat and great coat, if he had to throw 
down some other boy's things, who had as 
good a right to the place as himself; and 
better, because he had got it before him. 
And he would rush and crowd for the best 
seat. When it was cold, he would get the 
best place at the fire ; and if another boy 
came in ever so cold, he would never offer 
him his place. Did he obey the golden 



GENEROSITY. 301 

rule, in these things? If he had obeyed 
this rule, how would he have behaved, in 
the cases mentioned ? 

Alfred Morton was a very different boy. 
He always seemed to care more about the 
happiness of his brothers and sisters and 
school-fellows than for his own ; and yet, 
he was always happy. You would never 
hear him grumbling and complaining, nor 
see him pouting, like George Saunders, 
who was a very unhappy boy, just because 
he was always trying to please himself 
Avithout regard to others. That was the 
very reason. Selfish people are always 
xmhappy. But, instead of trying to have 
the best of every thing himself, Alfred 
would generally save the prettiest flowers 
and finest fruit for his little sisters, or for 
some of his companions; and he was a 
great deal happier in seeing them enjoy 
themselves, than he would have been to 
keep them himself. And it gave him great 
pleasure to give up a good seat, or a good 
place at the fire, to oblige his school-mates. 
One morning, as he was walking with his 
26 



302 A GENEROUS BOY. 

class-mates before school, he proposed that 
they should go to work and make whistles 
for the little boys in the third class, who 
were too yonng to make them for them- 
selves. The boys agreed to it ; and at the 
recess, he had the satisfaction of seeing the 
little boys enjoying themselves finely, with 
their whistles. Did not Alfred obey the 
golden rule ? So, if you will always obey 
that, you will be always happy ; but if you 
are selfish and niggardly, you will always 
be fretting, discontented, and unhappy. 



THE BIBLE. 303 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE BIBLE. 
" Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light to my path." 

1. The use of the Bible, 

A little boy, who had often amused 
himself by looking over the pictures of a 
large Bible, was asked one day by his 
mother if he knew the use of the Bible. 
*'No, mother," said he. ^' Then, John," 
replied his mother, ^' be sure you ask your 
father." When his father came in, John 
ran up to him, and said, *^ Father, will you 
tell me, sir, what is the use of the Bible?" 
^^I will tell you another time, John," said 
his father. John was disappointed, and 
walked away, wondering why his father 
did not tell him then. A few days after- 
wards, the father took his son to see a 
woman who was very sick in bed. He 
began to talk to her ; and she said she suf- 



304 USE OF THE BIBLE. 

fered a great deal of pain, but hoped that 
she was wiUing to suffer what it pleased 
God to send upon her. -^Do you think," 
said he, '^that God does right to let you 
suffer so much pain?" ^^O, yes," she 
answered; '^God is my heavenly Father, 
who loves me ; and I am sure one who 
loves me so much, would not let me suffer 
as I do, if it were not for my good." ^^How 
is it that you find your sufferings do you 
good ? " ^^ My sufferings are good for my 
soul ; they make me more humble, and more 
patient ; they make me feel the value of 
the Saviour more; they make me pray 
more ; and I am sure all this is good for 
me." John had been very attentive to this 
conversation; and the tears stood in his 
eyes, while the woman was talking, for he 
was very sorry for her. His father looked 
at him, and then said to the woman, ^^ My 
good woman, can you tell me what is the 
use of the Bible?" This interested John 
very much, and he looked towards the 
woman very eagerly, to hear what she 
would say. She raised her feeble voice, 



THE CHARITY-BOX. 305 

and, speaking in a stronger tone than 
before, said, '' O, sir, the Bible has been 
my comfort in my affliction." '^ There, 
John," said the father, ''now you know 
the use of the Bible. It can give us com- 
fort when we most need it." If this boy 
had read his Bible, he would have learned 
what was the use of it; for, in the 119th 
Psalm, it says, '' This is my comfort in my 
affliction, for thy word hath quickened 
me;" and it says, in Timothy, the Holy 
Scriptures are able to make us wise unto 
salvation ; which is of more use than to 
comfort us in affliction. 

2. The Utile boy and the Bible. 

A little boy, about six years old, came 
and asked the teacher for the charity-box. 
The teacher inquired what he wanted of 
the charity-box. ''I want to put my 
money into it," said he. He was asked 
what good it would do to put his money in 
the charity-box. ''I want to send it to 
the heathen," he said. "Who are the 
heathen?" said the teacher. ''They are 



306 THE BIBLE. 

folks who have no Bible, and Uve a great 
way off," rephed the boy. ^^ What is the 
Bible? " '' The word of God." ''• Of what 
use would it be to the heathen, if they had 
it?" ''It would tell them to love God, 
and be good." '' Where did the Bible 
come from?" ''From heaven." "Was 
it written in heaven?" "No, sir; the 
prophets and good men wrote it." "If 
good men wrote it, how, then, is it the 
Avord of God, from heaven ? " " The Holy 
Ghost told them how to write it." "Did 
they see the Holy Ghost, and did he speak 
to them?" "No, sir; but he made them 
think it." This little boy knew what was 
the use of the Bible. 

3. The heathen hoy and the Bible. 

A heathen boy at Madras (a place a 
great way off, over the ocean) had been to 
the missionary school, where he had read 
in the Testament, There he learned that 
it was wicked to worship idols. His father 
took him to an idol feast ; but he would 
not bow down to the idol, with his father, 



LOVE FOR THE BIBLE. 307 

and the rest of the people. When asked 
why he did not bow, he said it was im- 
possible that a wooden image could be God; 
and he would not bow to it. His father 
then abused him, and forcibly made him 
bow to the idol. On their way home, the 
boy's father began to dispute with him; 
but the boy said, ^' You made me bow to 
that idol, before, by beating me ; but I did 
not bow in my heart; and if you cut me in 
pieces, you shall never again make me 
bow to an idol." His father was very 
angry, and took him away from the school ; 
but the boy was so anxious to learn what 
was in the Bible, that he would steal away 
in the night, when his father was in bed, 
and go to the schoolmaster's house, to read 
the Bible. How many of you, dear chil- 
dren, would do so much as that to learn 
the Holy Scriptures ? Do not some of you 
sadly neglect the Bible, when you might 
read it or hear it read every day ? 

4. The hoy who gave all he had for a Bible, 

Dear children, if you had no Bible, how 
much would you give to get one ? A boy 



308 ALL FOR A BIBLE. 

lived in South Carolina, named George 
Howard. He was a poor cripple, and not 
able to do any work to maintain himself. 
But, by some means, he got half a dollar. 
That was all the money he had in the 
world. But, though he was a cripple, he 
walked four miles, to the place where the 
Bible Society's Bibles were kept, and offer- 
ed all his money for a Bible. The Bible 
was worth three quarters of a dollar; but 
they let him have it for what he had. 
When he got home, he began to read the 
Bible, and read it through in less than 
three months. When he came to die, 
which was not long after, he gave up his 
soul willingly to God, hoping and believing 
that through Jesus Christ, whose history 
he read in this Bible, he should be taken to 
heaven, and be happy with God for ever. 
Dear children, how many of you would 
give all you have for a Bible ? And then, 
how many of you would read it through in 
three months ? 



^^ I'VE GOT THE BIBLE ! " 309 

5. 'Tve got the Bible! Fve gottheBibleP' 

A boy in England, who went to Sab- 
bath school, was one day sent to a shop 
for some soap. When the woman had 
weighed it, she took a leaf from a Bible 
that was placed on the counter for waste 
paper. But the boy wondered at that, and 
said, " Why, ma'am, that is the Bible ! " 
''Well, and what if it be?'' replied the 
Woman. ''It is the Bible," said the boy 
again; "and what are you going to do 
with it?" "To wrap up the soap," 
answered the woman. " But, ma'am, you 
should not tear up that book, for it is 
the -BiJfc," said the boy, very earnestly. 
"What does that signify?" said the wo- 
man sharply ; "I bought it for waste paper, 
to use in the shop." " What— the Bible !" 
said the boy; "I wish it was mine. I 
would not tear it up like that." The 
woman told him that if he would pay her 
what she gave for it, he should have it. 
So he went home, and asked his mother to 
give him the money; but she said she 



310 JOY FOR THE BIBLE. 

could not. Then he criedj and begged for 
the money ; but his mother was unable to 
give it to him. Then, sobbing, he went 
back to the shop, and said to the woman, 
^^ My mother is poor, and cannot give me 
any money ; but O, do not tear up the 
Bible, for my teachers have told me that it 
is the word of God!^^ The woman told 
the boy not to cry, for he should have the 
Bible, if he would go and get its weight in 
waste paper. So he dried up his tears, and 
ran home, and his mother gave him all the 
paper she had ; and then he went to the 
neighbors' houses, and begged more. Then 
he hastened, with the bundle under his 
arm, to the shop, and said to the woman, 
^^Now, ma'am, I have got the paper." 
The woman put his paper into one side of 
the scale, and the Bible into the other, and 
the scale turned in favor of the boy. As 
soon as he saw it, he cried out, with tears 
of joy sparkling in his eyes, ^^ The Bible is 
mine ! I've got it ! " And away he ran 
home to his mother, crying out as he went, 
'^I've got the Bible! I've got the Bi- 



THE ORPHAN BOYS. 311 

ble!" Dear children, you see how the 
blessed Bible was prized by a boy who had 
never had it. Why will you not prize it 
so, when you may read it, or hear it read, 
every day? 

6. The orphan boys mid the Bible. 

There were two little boys in London, 
one about thirteen years old, and the other 
about eleven, who lived very happily with 
their parents, though they were very poor. 
These little boys, in one day, lost both 
father and mother by the typhus fever ; so 
that they were left orphans, in the wide 
world, without a home, and without any 
body to take care of them ; only they had 
an uncle in Liverpool. To him, therefore, 
as soon as their father and mother were 
buried, they set out to go on foot, and 
without money. On their way, they stop- 
ped at a place called Warrington, and went 
into a house to stay over night. They 
were tired and faint. All they had in the 
world was in their two bundles. In the 
younger boy's bundle, there was a Bible, 



312 THE ORPHANS. 

neatly covered, and carefully preserved. 
The keeper of the house said to him, ^' As 
you have neither money nor meat, will you 
sell me this Bible ? I will give you five 
shillings for it." ^^ No," said the boy, and 
the tears rolled down his cheeks, ^^I'll 
starve first." ^^O," said the man, ^^ there 
are plenty of books to be bought besides 
this. Why do you love your Bible so 
much?" The boy replied, '^ No book has 
stood my friend so much as my Bible." 
^^Why," said the man, ^' what has your 
Bible done for you?" ^'When I was a 
little boy," said he, ^^ about seven years of 
age, I became a Sabbath scholar in London. 
Through the kind attention of my teacher, 
I soon learned to read my Bible. This 
Bible, young as I was, showed me that I 
was a sinner, and pointed me to the Sa- 
viour; and I thank God, I have found 
mercy in Christ ; and I am not ashamed 
to confess him before the world." The 
man did not want to get away his Bible ; 
but he wanted to see how much he thought 
of that blessed book. So he offered him a 



THE BIBLE A FRIEND. 313 

dollar and a half for his Bible. ''No," 
said the boy ; ''for it has been my support 
all the way from London. Hungry and 
weary, often have I sat down by the way- 
side, to read my Bible, and found refresh- 
ment from it. I have felt as David did, 
when he said, ' In the multitude of my 
thoughts within me, thy comforts delight 
my soul.' " He was then asked what he 
would do, when he got to Liverpool, if his 
uncle would not receive him. " My Bible 
tells me," said the boy, "when my father 
and mother forsake me, then the Lord will 
take me up." The man was so much af- 
fected with what the boy said, that he 
could say no more, and they both wept 
together. Before these boys went to bed, 
they kneeled down and asked God to take 
care of them; and in the morning, they 
rose early, and went on their way to Liv- 
erpool. You see, dear children, by this 
story, how much the Bible can do for you ; 
and how dear a friend it will be to you, if 
you take it for your guide. 
27 



314 THE DYING BROTHER. 

7. What a child thought of the Bible on 
his death-bed. 

S — — F died when he was ten years 

old. A short time before his death, he gave 
his Bible to his brother, saying, '^I give 
you this Bible. It is an old one, but it is a 
precious one. It has been a great blessing 
to me. The comfort I now feel, I got from 
this book. I am going to heaven, and from 
this book it was I learned the way. Study 
it, and treasure up these things in your 
mind. Remember, mine are the words of 
a dying brother. May this book make you 
happy on your dying bed." 

8. Reverence for the Bible, 

Edward VI was made king of England, 
when he was only nine years old. When 
a very little boy, he was remarkable for his 
reverence of the Bible. If any of my little 
readers do not know what reverence means, 
they will find it explained in what I am 
going to tell them. Young king Edward 
reverenced the Bible by the way he thought 



THE YOUNG KING. 315 

and spoke of it, and the manner he treated 
it. One time, when he was at play, he 
wanted something that was above his 
reach ; and some of his companions placed 
a large book for him to stand upon. Just 
as he was about to step on it, he saw that 
it was the Bible. He stepped back, and 
took the blessed book in his arms, and put 
it in its place, saying very seriously to his 
playmates, ^' Shall I trample that under my 
feet which God has commanded me to 
treasure up in my heart V^ Remember this, 
dear children, when you are tempted to 
treat carelessly, or abuse the blessed Bible. 

9. Reading the Bible not a task. 

Do any of you, dear children, think it a 
task to read the Bible or hear it read 7 Or 
do you think it a task, to study your 
Scripture lesson for the Sabbath School? 
If so, you are not like the little girl I am 
going to speak of A gentleman was trav- 
eling in Wales, on foot; and being tired 
and thirsty, he stopped at the door of a cot- 
tage, where a little girl was sitting, reading 



316 NOT A TASK. 

her Bible. He asked her if she would give 
him some water. '^O yes, sir/' said she; 
'4f you will come in, mother will give 
you some milk and water." He went in 
and drank, and rested himself; after which, 
he came out, and said to the little girl, who 
was sitting at the door, '^Well, my little 
girl, are you getting your task?" ^'O no, 
sir," said she, ^^ I am reading the Bible." 
^^But," said the gentleman, ^^ you are get- 
ting your task out of the Bible." '^ O no, 
sir," replied the little girl, ^4t is no task to 
me to read the Bible — it is a pleasure." Be- 
fore this, the gentleman had never read 
much in the Bible ; for he did not believe 
it was the word of God. But he thought 
if it was so interesting to the little girl, he 
would read it too; and he found it to be 
the best book, in the world, for it made 
him a new man. 

10. The best thing in the Bible. 

Dear children, what is the best thing 
which the Bible teaches ? A little boy in 
the Sabbath school was asked what was 



DEATH. 317 

the most important truth in the Bible ; and 
he repeated this verse. 

"And what is more than all beside, 
The Bible tells us Jesus died j 
This is its best, its chief intent. 
To lead poor sinners to repent." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

DEATH AND ETERNITY. 

1. What is death 1 

One day, Mary was sitting by the side 
of her grand-mother, who was teUing about 
a little child, who had just died. ^' Grand- 
ma," said Mary, '^ what are they going to 
do with her, now she is dead 7 " Her grand- 
mother told her they were going to dig a 
grave, and put her into it, and cover her 
up in the ground ; and that every body in 
the world must die, like that little girl, and 
be buried in the ground; that she must 
27^ 



318 HEAVEN. 

die, and perhaps die while young. Mary- 
looked very solemn; and after sitting a 
long time, and thinking about what her 
grand-mother had been saying, she began 
to cry. " Mary, my dear," said her grand- 
mother, ^' what is the matter?'^ ''I don't 
want to die, and be buried up in the 
ground," said Mary : and she sobbed as 
if her heart would break. She was told 
that it was only her body, which would 
die ; but that her soul, or that in her which 
thinks, and loves, and hates, would never 
die ; and if she would become good, or re- 
pent of sin, believe in Christ and love God, 
her soul would go to heaven where Christ 
and angels are. Then her grand-mother 
told her many things about heaven. She 
described how pure and rich and happy 
they are in heaven; that the Scripture 
speaks of them as wearing white shining 
clothes, having crowns of gold on their 
heads, and golden harps in their hands; 
that they sing for ever the sweet songs 
of a Saviour's love"; that God will wipe 



HEAVEN. 319 

away all tears from their eyes; and that 
there will be no more death, neither sorrow 
nor cryingj nor any more pain ; that there 
is no night there, for the Saviour's face 
shines so bright, that there is no need 
of the sun, or moon, or a candle, to make it 
light ; and many other things she told her 
about that bright and happy world. 

'^Now, Mary, my dear," said she, ^^if 
you will only give your heart to God, you 
can go to that happy place when you die, 
and be as one of the angels." 

Mary had, by this time, stopped crying, 
and all her tears were dried up. She was 
so much interested in what she had heard, 
that she had forgotten all about being 
buried up in the ground. She sat still, 
thinking, a great while, without saying a 
word. But by-and-by she looked up and 
said, ^^ Grandma, I want to die nowP ^^My 
dear Mary," said her grandmother, '^why 
do you want to die now ? " Mary answer- 
ed, ''So that I may go to heaven, that 
happy place, where Christ and angels are." 

"But," said her grandmother, ''you 



320 LIVING TO DO GOOD. 

must be willing to live till God thinks it 
best for you to die. If God should let you 
live to grow up, and you should love him, 
you will have time to do a great deal of 
good, and get many of your companions to 
become Christians, and go to heaven with 
you. That will make heaven a happier 
place still. You must begin now to love 
God, and to do good. You must tell your 
little brothers and sisters and playmates all 
about that happy world; and how much 
Christ loves little children, when they re- 
pent and believe in him ; so that they may 
go to heaven with you. Yes, Mary, you 
can do much good now, while you are 
young, if you will try." Upon this, she 
seemed to be willing, on the whole, to live 
or die, as God pleased ; which is the way 
every body ought to feel. 

A little girl about five years old, one even- 
ing was sitting with her uncle in her mother's 
chamber. She went up to him, and said 
in a low voice, ''Uncle, here is the place 
where mother kneels every night, and prays 



321 

with me, before I go to bed. She puts her 
hand on my head when she prays; and 
she cries, uncle. Do you know what makes 
mother cry, when she pra^^s?" Her uncle 
told her it was because she wanted very 
much that God would hear her prayer, and 
make her daughter a good girl, and take 
her to heaven when she died. The little 
girl then said, ''Mother always prays that 
we may live in heaven when we die. How 
can we, uncle? When brother William 
died, they put him in a little coffin, and 
when I kissed him, he was very cold ; and 
when Jane and I looked down in the grave, 
before they threw the dirt on him, Pa told 
us the worms would feed on him, and that 
soon he would be all gone. And mother 
says I must die one of these days, and be 
put in the grave too ; but if I am, how can 
I be in heaven?". Then her uncle told 
her that her soul would live, after her body 
had been put in the grave; and that she 
would be able to think just as well as she 
does now. He told her of heaven, where 
good children will dwell for ever with Je- 



322 CHILDREN DIE. 

sus Christ ; where they will meet their pa- 
rents and sisters and brothers, who die ir; 
the Lord, and be very happy. He told her 
also of the Avorld of wo, where Satan and 
wicked people are tormented for ever and 
ever, to punish them for their sins. 

2. Children may die. 

Children sometimes think they are too 
young to prepare for death. And it might 
be so, if they were never known to die. 
But is it true that children never die? 
Have you never known any children to 
die as young as you are? If you go to 
the grave-yard, you will find graves as 
short as yours would be. 

(See ch. xii, No. 3, p. 179.) 

3. Children may die very suddenly. 

Some people, and perhaps some children, 
think they shall have time enough to pre- 
pare for death, when they come to be sick, 
on their death-beds. But every one who 
has tried it, has found the death-bed to be 
a poor place to prepare for death. Yet, no 



SUDDEN DEATHS. 323 

one knows that he will have even that poor 
chance to prepare for death, if he puts it off. 
Now is the only time we are sure of We 
may die very suddenly, without any warn- 
ing. A great many children die in this way. 
A boy was at Sabbath school one Sabbath, 
as well as you are, and nobody thought of 
his dying. The next day he w^as drowned. 
A lovely little girl, belonging to the same 
school, after being dressed for school, was 
taken sick ; and in three days she died. 
Another little boy was playing on Saturday, 
and Sabbath day he was buried. A boy 
seven years old, was at his Sabbath school 
on the Sabbath, and recited twenty verses ; 
the next day he was killed by the falling 
of a stone wall. A little girl eight years 
old, attended the Sabbath school at noon, 
and staid at home in the afternoon, while 
her mother went to meeting. While she 
was alone, her clothes caught fire, and she 
was burned so that she lived but a few 
hours. An interesting little girl, named 
Rebecca, left home in good health and fine 
spirits, to go to school ; but on the way was 



334 DEATH TERRIBLE 

run over by a carriage; and in less than^ 
half an hour, was brought home a corpse. 
I might tell you a great many more such 
cases ; but these are enough to show you, 
dear children, how necessary it is that you 
should be always prepared for death. All 
these sudden deaths say to you, ^'Be ye also 
ready ; for, in such an hour as ye think not, 
the Son of man cometh." 

4. Death terrible to those that are not 
prepared. 

You see, dear children, that you may die 
very suddenly. How terrible death will 
be, if it comes upon you suddenly while 
you are in the act of sinning against God ! 
Yet, a great many children die without 
any warning, while disobeying their pa- 
rents, breaking the Sabbath, or, in some 
other manner breaking the commandments 
of God. You have heard of Ananias and 
Sapphira, who dropped down dead, after 
telling a lie. 

(See chap, xi, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10. Chap, vii, 6. Chap, viii, 9 10, 14.) 



TO THE WICKED. 325 

5. Holo they feel^ who die unprepared, 

" The sting of death is sin." 
(Se chap, x, No. 4. p. 150.) 

There was a little girl, who thought she 
was too young to prepare for death ; but she 
thought she should live to be a woman, 
and then she would prepare to die. And 
sure enough, she did live to be a young 
woman. But then, as she grew older, she 
kept putting it off, thinking there was time 
enough yet. When she heard sermons and 
other religious instruction, she would often 
feel very serious ; for the Holy Spirit was 
striving with her and persuading her to 
think of God and eternity. But she thought 
she had a great while to live, and she should 
have time enough to repent ; so she kept 
putting it off. She went to spend Thanks- 
giving with her friends ; and soon after, 
she was taken sick with the consumption. 
The doctor said she had but a short time 
to live. She was very much surprised 
to hear this, for she thought she had a 
great while to live. She became very much 
28 



326 AFRAID TO DIE. 

distressed about her soul. The minister 
was sent for, to pray with her. He told her 
about JesuSj who died to save sinners ; but 
she rolled herself upon her pillow, and said 
in a mournful tone of voice, ^^ lam afraid to 
die,^^ He told her again, how good God 
is, and how willing he is to pardon all who 
repent and believe in Christ; and how able 
and wilHng Christ is, to save all who come 
to him; but, ^' O," said she, '^this is a poor 
time to prepare for death — 1 am afraid to 
die,'''' She lived but a little while after this. 
The minister visited her several times. One 
time, when he came in, she cast her eyes 
upon him with deep interest, grasped his 
hand and said, ^" O that I was prepared to 
die ; but I have put off religion till now it 
is too late to seek it." She wept and cried 
for mercy ; and asked others to pray for her; 
but the next time the minister came, she 
still said, '-^ I am afraid to die?'' Every 
time the doctor came, she would ask him 
how long she should live. Several nights, 
she did not shut her eyes to sleep, because 
she was afraid she should never wake ; and 



UNPREPARED. 327 

she told the watcher not to let her sleep, and 
if she fell asleep to wake her in a few 
minutes ; for she was afraid she should die 
asleep. She warned her brothers and 
sisters, very solemnly, not to put off re- 
pentance till on their death-bed; for, said 
she, ^^ this is a poor place to prepare for 
death,^^ The last time the minister saw 
her, she said, ^^I feel as though I could 
warn sinners not to put off religion till they 
come to where I am — now it is too lateP 
The night that she died, she showed 
as much fear and terror as ever. Death 
was the king of terrors to her. When she 
was struck with death, her friends were 
called, and she warned them to prepare for 
deaths and not to put it off. ^^ I am dying," 
said she, — ^^I expect to be miserable — you 
must seek religion, then you will be happy." 
What was it, dear children, that made 
this young woman feel so bad about dying? 
It was because she knew that she was not 
prepared to die. And, if death overtakes 
you unprepared, you will be as miserable 
as she was. But if you prepare for death 



328 DEATH DELIGHTFUL. 

noWj while you are well, when it comes, 
you will be glad and joyful ; because death, 
to them that are prepared, is but the gate 
that leads to heaven. The sting of death 
is sin ; but Jesus takes away the sting of 
death. 

6. Happiness in death. 

'* Death is swallowed up in victory." 

There is a hymn that says, 

" Jesus can make a dying bed 

Feel soft as downy pillows are." 

He takes away the sting of death ; and 
makes his people happy when they come 
to lie on their death-beds, because they are 
so soon to be with him in his glory. I will 
tell you of some children, who have died 
happy ; that you may see how blessed a 
thing it is, for children to be prepared to die. 

(1.) A pious little boy, a few hours before 
his death, broke out into singing, and sung 
very loud. His mother asked him what 
he was singing for. He replied, ^' I am 
singing my sister's favorite hymn, mother.'' 



NOT AFRAID TO DIE. 329 

^^ But, why, my dear, so loud?" ^^ Why ! '' 
said he, very earnestly, ^^ because I am so 
happy." Just before he died, he lifted up 
his hands, and said, ^'Father! Father! 
take me, Father ! " His father went to 
lift him up; but, with a sweet smile, he 
said, ^^ I did not call you, father ; but I was 
calling to my heavenly Father to take me ; 
and I shall soon be with him." And what 
do you think it was that made this little 
boy so happy ? 

(2.) / am not afraid to die. A little 
girl had been very sick. After she got 
well, some one asked her if she was not 
afraid to die. ^^No." said she. ^^But 
why are you not afraid to die?" ^^ Be- 
cause," said she, ^'I knoio that Christ has 
died for me, which makes me not afraid to 
die." Some time before, when she was 
left alone, she knelt down and prayed to 
God to pardon her sins ; and she hoped God 
heard and answered her prayer. 

(3.) A little Hindoo boy. A little boy, 
about twelve years old, had been brought 
up a heathen; but he had heard about 
28^' 



330 HINDOO BOY. 

Jesus from the missionaries. He was 
taken very sick, so that there was no 
hope of his ever getting well. His fa- 
ther asked him whether he wished to 2*0 
to Christ, or stay here still longer. The 
boy replied, ^^I should like to learn still 
more of the Catechism ; but I should like 
also to go to Christ." Then he said to his 
father, '^Father, have you still any idols 
in the house? If you have, get them all 
away, and keep to the gospel." A heathen 
doctor would not give him any medicine, 
because his parents had become Christians. 
But the boy said, ^' Never mind — I do 
not want his medicine — I have a heavenly 
physician." He died with joy; and, in- 
stead of mourning for him, his parents 
made a feast. The neighbors asked them 
what they meant, to make a feast and re- 
joice, because their son had died. But the 
boy's father answered, ^' Why should we 
mourn ? This is the marriage day of my 
boy. May we all die as this our boy did." 
What made this dear boy die so happily? 



GOING TO HEAVEN. 331 

(4.) The little boy that was not afraid of 
death, A little sick boy was asked whether 
he would rather live or die. ^'O/' said he, 
^^ I would rather go with death. I am not 
afraid of death. I hope I should go to 
heaven. I love my mother, but I love 
Christ better. He died for sinners ; and he 
said ^^ Come unto me all ye that labor and 
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'' 
^^ Then you have no fear of death?" 
^^ No," said he, '^ I pray to Christ." 

(5.) Little Rosina, 

(See ch. xi, No. 13, p. 209.) 

7. Why shall we go to heaven ? 

A little boy four years old, and a little 
girl not quite three, while at play together, 
were talking about another little girl's 
brother, who died when but a few months 
old. '^ He was your dear little cousin," 
said the little girl, and when we go to 
heaven, we shall see him." '^ Yes," said 
the boy, " if we are good, we shall go to 
heaven, and see him." ''No," said the 
little girl, " we shall not go to heaven because 



332 THE BEST PLACE. 

we are good^ but we shall go to heaven, be- 
cause Christ died for usJ^ Dear children, 
which do you think was right, the little 
boy or the Uttle girl? The little girl ran 
and asked her mother, who said, ^^If we 
are good, we shall go to heaven, because 
Christ died for us.^^ 

8. The best place. 

Heaven is the best of places. There are 
many good places; but there is none so 
good as heaven. The closet, where the 
child prays is a good place ; but it is not 
so good as heaven. The house, where a 
pious family lives, is a good place ; but it 
is not so good as heaven. The school, 
where children hear the instructions of 
pious teachers, is a good place ; but it is 
not so good as heaven. The place, where 
the gospel of Jesus is preached, is a 
good place ; but it is not so good as heaven. 
There is sin in all these good places ; but 
there is no sin in heaven ; therefore heaven 
is the best place. There may be sorrow in 
all these good places, but there is no sorrow 



THE END. 333 

in heaven ; therefore heaven is the best 
place. Bad people may get into all these 
good places, but no bad men can ever get 
into heaven ; therefore, heaven is the best 
place. Bad thoughts may get into all 
these good places, but there are no bad 
thoughts in heaven; therefore heaven is 
the best place of all. 



THE END. 



OF THE 

DEPOSITORY No. 13 CORNHILL. 



Price. 
Newcomb's Scripture Questions, for the use of Sab- 
bath schools and Bible classes. Vol. 1, 14th Ed.. 18| 

Newcomb's Scripture Questions. Vol. 2, 15 

Newcomb's First Question Book. Vol. 1, 12^ 

" «« «* «« Vol.2, 12J 

Newcomb's Infant S. S. Question Book, 12^ 

A Biblical Catechism, designed for Infant Sabbath 

Schools. Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 05 

The Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism,. . . 03 

Exercises on the Shorter Catechism, , 12 J 

The New England Primer, 04 

Proud and Penitent, 18 

The Attributes of God, 25 

A Gift for Scholars, 15 

How to be Useful; or Examples for the Young, .... 18 



Sabbath School Publications. 

Price. 
Stories of Eliot and the Indians, 25 

Anne Allen,. 12 

Stories and Sermons for Infant Minds,. 14 

Widow of Monmouth, or Family Instruction. Part I, 24 
" <c « « u cc Part II, 24 

The Little Osage Captive, 15 

The Great Apostasy, 33 

Letters to a Sister, 50 

Ceylon Mission, 28 

The Palm Tree, an Emblem of Youth, 15 

The Blood of Abel and the Blood of Sprinkling; or 

the Law and the Gospel, 15 

Creation, 8 

The Lollards, 35 

The Favorite Son, 15 

Story of the Prodigal,. 12 

The Noble Prince, or how to forgive, 9 

Memoir of Caroline S — — ~, 12 



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